From the latest story spring two more questions for me...
I wonder what coach it was that took her aside and went off on a tirade.
I wonder also if ****bailer could ever do enough to have the NCAA actually take action. We have a seemingly endless stream of misdeeds coming from there and nothing makes the NCAA budge in a way that might make us believe they were out to punish the program and make it change.
You bring up an important point. Baylor seemingly exists in an environment where regulation and policing is inadequate.
The NCAA learned about their limited power in the wake of Penn State. The NCAA's enforcement authority appears to be rubber stamping whatever sanctions a guilty school recommends for itself.
The Baylor PD, Waco PD and courts are in bed with Baylor. When you share a passion for BU football success and also work in a judicial system flooded with employees holding BU degrees, it's hard for truth to come out.
The State of Texas is powerless since BU is a private institution. Gone from the arsenal of justice are Freedom of Information requests and legislative oversight. The Texas Rangers (LEO, not baseball) should be called in to investigate the Waco PD and McClellan County Sheriff. But when the Texas Ranger hall of fame is in Waco, even that resource is less than ideal.
The Baptist Church isn't going to change its culture of abstinence nor is there much sympathy extended to the jezzibels who dress sexy, get drunk, and end up raped. The victims serve as a real life example of why girls should stay at home sober, praying to be in the company of a good and righteous Christian man.
The Feds don't exactly have a title 9 enforcement division, and in classic big government fashion, have not been bothered to act quickly nor decisively.
BU has a legal apparatus that allows them to settle and pay for silence, thereby keeping any facts from seeing the light of day.
The press and talents of crack investigative reporters are as close as anyone to prosecuting this case in the court of public opinion. Of course these journalist have to brave the response of rabid BU fans who see any assault on BU as a conspiracy and as an act of war. Retaliation comes with the territory.
This Baylor rape story is a disappointing case study in how our institutions fail us. It's not clear who should be the judge, jury, or jailer. A leadership and ownership vacuum exists.
It's the BU regents who are in the drivers seat. They've taken action (up to the point of not shedding any light on the facts) and are ready to move on.
We may never know what was in the Pepper Hamilton report. But we can be pretty sure that two-comma dollar amounts are flowing to money-whip victims and key players into absolute silence.
