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As Baylor reviews transfer athletes, ex-football player cites unfairness
6:07 AM CT
At least one player is no longer part of the football team and university in part because of the review. Defensive tackle Jeremy Faulk, who played at Garden City (Kansas) Community College and at Florida Atlantic University, told Outside the Lines that he was questioned by Baylor coaches on June 1 about an incident he was involved in at Florida Atlantic. He said he was also questioned about an alleged sexual assault that may have occurred in April on the Baylor campus, when he was on the Baylor team. No charges were filed in either case; Faulk, who denies sexually assaulting anyone, said he's never been asked by police to discuss the alleged April incident.
Faulk's departure has angered Jeff Sims, a former assistant at Florida Atlantic and the former head coach at Garden City. Sims, who coached Faulk at both schools, says Baylor is trying to rid itself of anyone who has had an allegation made against him, true or not. And he's disturbed by something he said new Baylor interim coach Jim Grobe told him when he called to ask why Faulk's status on the team was in jeopardy over the alleged April incident.
"Grobe says to me, 'Listen, if he just leaves, he can go on, and we won't stop him from playing anywhere, and this investigation will stop.'" Flabbergasted at the notion a sexual assault investigation might disappear if an accused player were to leave the team, Sims said he pressed Grobe, but Grobe struggled to be more specific before implying that Baylor administrators had made him remove the player from the team.
Baylor has been at the center of nationwide attention over its handling of sexual assault allegations and investigations, including several that have involved athletes. In recent weeks, Baylor has dealt with the fallout from that negative attention: the demotion and then the resignation of former university president and chancellor Kenneth Starr; the pending firing of football coach Art Briles; the suspension and then the resignation of athletic director Ian McCaw; and the firings of multiple athletic department employees. At least one lawsuit has been filed, and a complaint about school officials' handling of sexual assault cases has been made to the U.S. Department of Education.
In a recent review, conducted by Philadelphia law firm Pepper Hamilton, of how Baylor officials have dealt with sexual assault complaints, the football program was faulted for not doing background checks on potential transfers: "Baylor did not consistently follow previously implemented processes regarding criminal background checks, request for records of any prior college disciplinary actions, and character reference screening forms."
Details about the alleged sexual assault in April are unclear, in part because Baylor University campus police have not yet provided a police report about the incident to Outside the Lines.
Faulk said he returned to campus after Memorial Day for summer classes and practice. He said that on May 31, he was called into an office with assistant football coach Chris Achuff, and other defensive line coaches, and questioned about what happened between him, another player and a female student who had come over to their apartment after a party during the school's Diadeloso celebration in mid-April.
He said coaches told him that the woman reported that she had consensual sex with one of the players but that the sex with the other player was not consensual. Faulk said he told coaches he had consensual sex with her, she left his room, and he never saw her again. The other player was a junior college transfer who had enrolled at Baylor in January and participated in spring practice. Faulk said the player did not return for practice last week, and when Briles was fired, the player wanted to transfer.
Baylor football officials confirmed this week that he was no longer on the team. The Baylor spokeswoman said the player voluntarily left the team and withdrew from the university.
Faulk, who joined the Baylor program in January, said he has never been contacted by any Baylor police officers.
"The coaches told me they know I didn't do anything," Faulk said. "They told me I have nothing to worry about." He said they asked him what happened with the other player and the woman, but Faulk said he didn't know.
Faulk told Outside the Lines that he had exchanged a few text messages with the woman a couple days after the encounter, messages he described as being "random conversation." He said he's trying to retrieve those messages. He provided her name and number to Outside the Lines and said she would corroborate his story.
But when Outside the Lines reached her Thursday, she did not verify his account and instead said that Faulk and the other player "forced me to do things that I didn't want to do against my own consent." She declined to go into any further detail about what happened. She said Faulk texted her a few days later and asked to see her again, and she declined. She said she texted him one more time to inquire about his sexual medical history, and he did not respond.
The woman reported the alleged assault May 5 but told police that she did not want to press charges. She said someone from Baylor's Title IX office contacted her, and she met with someone a few weeks ago, but she didn't want an investigation; she said officials told her they had to do a preliminary investigation regardless. She said she is in counseling but is worried about retaliation and wants to move on.
Faulk said that on June 1 he was called back into the coaches' office, and they presented him with a report they found from Florida Atlantic University, where Faulk played in 2013 and 2014. He said that while he was there, he and a friend got in trouble after they burst open the door to a teammate's room and teased him and his girlfriend -- who were both naked in bed -- and threatened to pull off the sheets. Campus police were called, but no criminal charges were filed. Outside the Lines obtained the police report Thursday; the description of the "suspicious incident" on Nov. 3, 2013, matches Faulk's account.
Sims said Grobe told him during their phone call Saturday that Baylor had to let Faulk go because of the two incidents: "They said two strikes, and he was out."
As Baylor reviews transfer athletes, ex-football player cites unfairness
6:07 AM CT
- Paula Lavigne
- Max Olson
At least one player is no longer part of the football team and university in part because of the review. Defensive tackle Jeremy Faulk, who played at Garden City (Kansas) Community College and at Florida Atlantic University, told Outside the Lines that he was questioned by Baylor coaches on June 1 about an incident he was involved in at Florida Atlantic. He said he was also questioned about an alleged sexual assault that may have occurred in April on the Baylor campus, when he was on the Baylor team. No charges were filed in either case; Faulk, who denies sexually assaulting anyone, said he's never been asked by police to discuss the alleged April incident.
Faulk's departure has angered Jeff Sims, a former assistant at Florida Atlantic and the former head coach at Garden City. Sims, who coached Faulk at both schools, says Baylor is trying to rid itself of anyone who has had an allegation made against him, true or not. And he's disturbed by something he said new Baylor interim coach Jim Grobe told him when he called to ask why Faulk's status on the team was in jeopardy over the alleged April incident.
"Grobe says to me, 'Listen, if he just leaves, he can go on, and we won't stop him from playing anywhere, and this investigation will stop.'" Flabbergasted at the notion a sexual assault investigation might disappear if an accused player were to leave the team, Sims said he pressed Grobe, but Grobe struggled to be more specific before implying that Baylor administrators had made him remove the player from the team.
Baylor has been at the center of nationwide attention over its handling of sexual assault allegations and investigations, including several that have involved athletes. In recent weeks, Baylor has dealt with the fallout from that negative attention: the demotion and then the resignation of former university president and chancellor Kenneth Starr; the pending firing of football coach Art Briles; the suspension and then the resignation of athletic director Ian McCaw; and the firings of multiple athletic department employees. At least one lawsuit has been filed, and a complaint about school officials' handling of sexual assault cases has been made to the U.S. Department of Education.
In a recent review, conducted by Philadelphia law firm Pepper Hamilton, of how Baylor officials have dealt with sexual assault complaints, the football program was faulted for not doing background checks on potential transfers: "Baylor did not consistently follow previously implemented processes regarding criminal background checks, request for records of any prior college disciplinary actions, and character reference screening forms."
Details about the alleged sexual assault in April are unclear, in part because Baylor University campus police have not yet provided a police report about the incident to Outside the Lines.
Faulk said he returned to campus after Memorial Day for summer classes and practice. He said that on May 31, he was called into an office with assistant football coach Chris Achuff, and other defensive line coaches, and questioned about what happened between him, another player and a female student who had come over to their apartment after a party during the school's Diadeloso celebration in mid-April.
He said coaches told him that the woman reported that she had consensual sex with one of the players but that the sex with the other player was not consensual. Faulk said he told coaches he had consensual sex with her, she left his room, and he never saw her again. The other player was a junior college transfer who had enrolled at Baylor in January and participated in spring practice. Faulk said the player did not return for practice last week, and when Briles was fired, the player wanted to transfer.
Baylor football officials confirmed this week that he was no longer on the team. The Baylor spokeswoman said the player voluntarily left the team and withdrew from the university.
Faulk, who joined the Baylor program in January, said he has never been contacted by any Baylor police officers.
"The coaches told me they know I didn't do anything," Faulk said. "They told me I have nothing to worry about." He said they asked him what happened with the other player and the woman, but Faulk said he didn't know.
Faulk told Outside the Lines that he had exchanged a few text messages with the woman a couple days after the encounter, messages he described as being "random conversation." He said he's trying to retrieve those messages. He provided her name and number to Outside the Lines and said she would corroborate his story.
But when Outside the Lines reached her Thursday, she did not verify his account and instead said that Faulk and the other player "forced me to do things that I didn't want to do against my own consent." She declined to go into any further detail about what happened. She said Faulk texted her a few days later and asked to see her again, and she declined. She said she texted him one more time to inquire about his sexual medical history, and he did not respond.
The woman reported the alleged assault May 5 but told police that she did not want to press charges. She said someone from Baylor's Title IX office contacted her, and she met with someone a few weeks ago, but she didn't want an investigation; she said officials told her they had to do a preliminary investigation regardless. She said she is in counseling but is worried about retaliation and wants to move on.
Faulk said that on June 1 he was called back into the coaches' office, and they presented him with a report they found from Florida Atlantic University, where Faulk played in 2013 and 2014. He said that while he was there, he and a friend got in trouble after they burst open the door to a teammate's room and teased him and his girlfriend -- who were both naked in bed -- and threatened to pull off the sheets. Campus police were called, but no criminal charges were filed. Outside the Lines obtained the police report Thursday; the description of the "suspicious incident" on Nov. 3, 2013, matches Faulk's account.
Sims said Grobe told him during their phone call Saturday that Baylor had to let Faulk go because of the two incidents: "They said two strikes, and he was out."
