Do better. 

 

I'm talking specifically about Baylor, but it applies to all colleges and universities. 

 

The Baylor mess shines a light on a problem that exists on college campuses all over this country. 

 

What's it going to take for school administrators to wake up and deal with sexual assault properly?

 

The number complaints at Baylor should make your stomach turn. The way it was handled, or more appropriately, mishandled should

infuriate you. 

 

We can all agree it is reprehensible what has happened at Baylor. But, here’s the key point, let’s not believe for a second that our favorite school is immune from this kind of scandal.

 

Yes, the Baylor situation may be extreme. But, every other university and college in this country better take heed.

 

Baylor's handling of the obscene number of sexual assault allegations is still hard to believe. At best, they turned their collective heads. At worst, they fostered and enabled a “rape culture” that has resulted in a staggering number of victims having their lives altered forever.

 

Shameful.

 

I love college football and basketball as much as the next person. As an administrator at three universities, spanning nearly two decades, the business of college sports provided for me and my family for a long time. It continues to do so even though I have left the administration side of things.

 

I understand how important winning is to these schools. I understand how the money involved in college sports has forced so many to cut corners, cheat and look for ways to get ahead. 

 

But, at some point this has to end. The violence and sexual assaults on college campuses need to be dealt with harshly. Not covered up, as they apparently were at Baylor. 

 

Wins should not trump safety.

 

Baylor has made significant changes this week. The changes came far too late, but they are significant. Chancellor, Ken Starr…gone. Athletics Director, Ian McCaw…gone. And, the most public move to date, head football coach Art Briles…gone.

 

This is a start, but far from the end. Each of those three go because they were the leaders. 

 

Again, at best, they looked away and stood silently by as these violent acts were carried out on their campus. At worst, they conspired to bully and intimidate alleged victims and fought to keep the alleged attackers in school and available on football Saturdays.

 

Those three men were the faces of this scandal, but don’t kid yourself. There’s more. As the months march on we will see additional house cleaning from Baylor. The upcoming departures will not be as public, but may be just as significant.

 

That football program had run amok and a fresh start is not only needed, it’s mandatory. 

 

There is an "on-field" football aspect to this discussion. It’s a blip on the importance scale compared to the larger problems that exist on the Baylor campus, but it's a part of the discussion you will start to hear in the coming weeks and months. 

 

Just as the Big 12 tries to decide on expansion and convince television networks it deserves more money, one of the league's premier programs has been decimated.

 

From hip and cool to a national embarrassment.  Baylor may never be the same.

 

We have time to discuss the football part of this and we will. For now, let’s hope the house cleaning last week in Waco begins the process of changing the culture on campus. Let's hope the victims in this horrific saga begin to get justice. And, let's hope this serves as a wake-up call to each and every leader on a college campus across this county.

 

Do better.

 

Editor's Note: Photos, including outgoing Baylor Coach Art Briles at the top, by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.