New Baylor lawsuit alleges 52 rapes by football players in 4 years, 'show 'em a good time' culture | Baylor

Investigation by lawyers identified at least 52 "acts of rape," including five gang rapes, by 31 football players in a four-year period. At least two of the gang rapes were committed by 10 or more players at one time, the suit states. 

This contrasts with figures Baylor officials have provided based on an investigation by Pennsylvania-based law firm Pepper Hamilton, which looked into how Baylor handled sexual assault on campus. Regents told The Wall Street Journal in October that they were aware of 17 women who reported sexual or domestic assaults involving 19 players, including four alleged gang rapes, since 2011.

Tonya Lewis, a Baylor spokeswoman, declined to answer specific questions about Baylor's knowledge of the prior alleged sexual assault by Chatman or the alleged non-disclosure agreement. She also declined to comment on the scope of the Pepper Hamilton investigation or whether the university stands by the numbers it originally provided. 

Clune, who has represented four Baylor survivors, including two who received settlements with the university, defended the thoroughness of his investigation.

"We have no idea how the regents came up with their numbers, but they do not represent the total number of assaults," he said. "I'm not sure that was Pepper's assignment either."

Art Briles' response

Art Briles, the former head football coach who was fired in May in response to the scandal, had no knowledge of the 52 sexual assaults cited in the lawsuit, or of any payoff to a victim to keep quiet, his lawyer Ernest Cannon said. 

"Lawyers can say whatever they want to in pleadings," Cannon said. "I haven't seen any facts."

He added that the quote in the lawsuit attributed to his client's son, Kendal Briles, did not "sound like the Kendal that I know." Florida Atlantic University, which recently hired Kendal Briles to be its offensive coordinator, did not respond for a request for comment. 

The allegations also were met with push back by a former recruiting chair for the Baylor Bruins, a "hostess" group for prospective athletes visiting campus. Katie Norman tweeted that no one in the Baylor Bruins instructed women to sleep with recruits, and that she was only asked to hang out with them at games.

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