Baylor University Settles Title IX Suit With Woman Who Alleged She Was Gang-Raped by Football Players
Baylor University, the world's largest Baptist university in Waco, Texas, announced Friday that it had settled a Title IX lawsuit filed by a former volleyball player who alleged she was drugged and gang-raped in 2012 by four to eight football players.
"Baylor University understands that survivors of sexual and interpersonal violence seek resolution in many ways. In reaching a legal settlement, we acknowledge the challenges this survivor has endured and realize it's a small step in the healing process," Baylor officials said in a statement.
"Under new leadership, Baylor has taken significant actions in response to past reports of sexual violence within our campus community and implemented 105 improvements to our Title IX policy, processes and procedures. We remain steadfast in our commitment to properly respond to incidents of sexual assault, interpersonal violence and harassment."
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According to the Waco Tribune-Herald, the terms of the settlement of the lawsuit filed against Baylor 14 months ago were not disclosed. The plaintiff, who was not identified, claimed in her lawsuit that several Baylor officials did not respond appropriately to her claims.
It is reportedly the fifth Title IX lawsuit settled by the university. Several suits from 15 former students alleging sexual assault are still pending.
Details from court files of the alleged gang rape that occurred at a party in February 2012 at the off-campus apartment of several football players, say players yelled, "Grab her phone! Delete my numbers and texts!" after the rape.
Freshman football players, according to details cited by the Tribune-Herald, would bring women to parties, where they would be drugged and gang-raped, "or in the words of the football players, 'trains' would be run on" the women.
The plaintiff couldn't recall portions of what happened to her on the night of the assault, but explained in the lawsuit that she became intoxicated and remembered one player picking her up and putting her in his vehicle. She was taken to a second location where she said at least four football players raped her, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle.
The plaintiff alleged that she was later taunted by members of the football team who told her that she "wanted it" and that photos were taken of her during the rape.
She eventually told her mother about the assault. Her mother then reported what happened to a Baylor assistant football coach, providing the names of several players who were identified in the assault.
No action was taken. Several Baylor regents noted that when the assistant coach spoke to two players about the assault, they only "admitted to 'fooling around,' calling it 'just a little bit of playtime.'"
After enduring further harassment from the players, the plaintiff eventually withdrew from Baylor after the spring 2013 semester. School officials had reportedly told her family it was too late to report the alleged assault to police.
In June, Baylor had moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the complaint "reads like an extended press release ... attempting to use inflammatory allegations and speculation about sexual assaults of other women, unrelated in time or place to her own alleged sexual assault, to bolster her claims and unfairly prejudice Baylor."
