Baylor women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey marked a milestone in her career yesterday earning her 500th win and clinching the Big 12 title for the Baylor Bears with their 86-48 win over Texas Tech. But for all of the positive that the day brought, it may have been overshadowed by the coach’s conduct after the game.
“If somebody’s around you and they ever say, ‘I will never send my daughter to Baylor,’ you knock them right in the face ,” said Mulkey standing at center court addressing fans, according to Forbes .
Mulkey continued to lecture the crowd, telling the audience that Baylor University is “the damn best school in America,” despite numerous allegations having been made against former student-athletes at Baylor of sexual assault and a lack of action taken by administrators. Mulkey went so far as to say that she would pay for anyone’s daughter to attend Baylor.
“This is a great institution, and I would send my daughter here, and I would pay for anyone else’s daughter to come here. I work here every day. I’m in the know. And I’m tired of hearing it. This is a great institution. The problems that we have at Baylor are no different than the problems at any other school in America. Period. Move on. Find another story to write.”
Unfortunately for Mulkey and Baylor University, the story of sexual assault allegations against Baylor University will continue to be written for some time with a lawsuit filed last month alleging 52 sexual assaults involving former students and student-athletes at Baylor within a four-year period.
Mulkey’s pro-Baylor rant continued at the post-game press conference stating that she is “in the know” and that people who are at not, and who are not present at the meetings or part of the investigation are reporting hearsay regarding the allegations, according to The Washington Post.
Allegations against Baylor began as far back as 2011 according to a timeline published in the Waco Tribune when Baylor student Robert David Cole was charged with sexual assault of a fellow student. In 2012, former Baylor University student and football player Tevin Elliot sexually assaulted a fellow student at a party. Elliot was eventually convicted in 2014 of two counts of sexual assault for the 2012 incident and sentenced to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Sexual assaults involving Baylor students continued to be reported, with Baylor University issuing a statement in 2015 regarding the school’s policy on sexual violence and appointed Baylor Law professor Jeremy Counsellor to launch an investigation into sexual assault allegations against Sam Ukwuachu, a Baylor football player and former freshman All-American at Boise State University.
Baylor hired Pepper Hamilton in September 2015 to conduct an independent inquiry into sexual assault allegations at the school and the university’s handling of allegations. The study recommended widespread change throughout Baylor University to establish a protocol for the reporting and handling of sexual assault on campus. Pepper Hamilton specifically recommended in their report that Baylor “create a culture within the football program that ensures that the reporting, investigation, and disciplinary actions involving student-athletes and athletics department staff are managed in the same manner as all other students and staff on campus, and that student athletes are held accountable to the same standards as all Baylor students.”
With allegations continuing to mount against the football program, head coach Art Briles was fired in May 2016. Baylor continued to clean house with Baylor Athletic Director Ian McCaw tendering his resignation in May and Kenneth Starr stepping down as chancellor in June 2016. Briles went on to file suit against Baylor officials for defamation and conspiracy.
Baylor University issued a statement in response to the Jan. 2017 lawsuit stating that it has In response to that lawsuit, the university said in a statement that it has made “great progress in implementing 105 recommendations to strengthen the safety and security of all students and restore faith in the University,” according to The Washington Post .
[Featured Image by Rod Aydelotte/AP Images]