A federal lawsuit alleging that Baylor University violated Title IX with an inadequate response to allegations of rape by its football players will move forward.
The latest Baylor Title IX lawsuit, brought in March of 2016 by former student Jasmin Hernandez, was the subject of a motion to dismiss on the school’s behalf. That motion was denied on Monday, clearing the way for the suit to proceed.
The crux of the suit’s claims of negligence center around the responses to Hernandez’s reporting that she was raped by former Bears football player Tevin Elliott in 2012. Hernandez alleges that she, along with her parents, were ignored when they approached school officials about the sexual assault.
According to Glenn Minnis of the SE Texas Record, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pittman didn’t mince his words in regards to Baylor. In his decision to deny the motion to dismiss, Pittman wrote the following about the school’s conduct:
"“Baylor’s alleged failure to address and active concealment of sexual violence committed by its football players, including Tevin Elliott, was a form of discrimination. Baylor’s alleged knowledge of the need to supervise Elliott and protect female students plausibly constitutes deliberate indifference. Finally, Baylor’s alleged deliberate indifference plausibly created an environment in which football players could sexually assault women, including Plaintiff, with impunity.”"
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Pittman’s language is important because claims of deliberate indifference and the creation of a hostile environment for women are the major points of contention of the suit that Hernandez has filed.
The suit, which names Baylor’s Board of Regents, former head football coach Art Briles and former athletic director Ian McCaw as defendants, seeks punitive damages and the enforcement of statutory/civil penalties. Now that the motion to dismiss has failed, the defendants’ next move will likely be to attempt to negotiate a settlement out of court. It would not only possibly be in the defendants’ financial interest but behoove the school’s public relations as well.
If the suit does proceed to trial, every detail about how the complaints of Hernandez and others were handled by Baylor’s staff will be revealed. Furthermore, a potential ruling that the school was in violation of Title IX could prompt financial consequences beyond the punitive damages Hernandez is seeking.
Whether or not a settlement is reached remains to be seen. What’s certain is that Baylor could still face more undesirable consequences from its failures.