The saying goes that life is full of second chances, and many coaches embrace this by recruiting athletes from troubled backgrounds to help rectify their life and provide hope for their future.
That’s what we want to believe. Those are the stories we want to read.
Deposed Baylor football coach Art Briles and current Oregon men’s basketball coach Dana Altman have made headlines in recent years because of alleged sexual misconduct of athletes they brought into their programs, often with prior records. During the recruiting process, they were sincere about helping these young men with checkered pasts turn their lives around, right? Give them a second chance?
Briles was fired as were two staff members. The athletic director, Ian McCaw, resigned the same day he named Jim Grobe as the new interim head coach. School president Ken Starr was reassigned. Now, these men, their reputations in tatters, are searching for a second chance.
This happened because of what these men allegedly knew about sex offenders on the team and did little to correct the situation. Two players were ultimately convicted of rape and sentenced to jail. One of the players, defensive lineman Sam Ukwuachu, was kicked off Boise State’s team for violent behavior, including a domestic violence charge against a former girlfriend that resulted in him attending anger management sessions.
In the past year, there have been multiple reports at Baylor of other alleged assaults against women who said the school did nothing to help. Baylor is in the heart of Texas, in Waco, where football obviously is like a religion, omnipotent even at the nation’s largest Baptist institution.
In stark contrast, Altman continues to coach an Oregon program that came within one round from reaching the Final Four last season. His talented and loaded team is poised to make another run next season.
The damage done to Oregon with its rape case, involving three former players, amounts to $800,000 with free housing and paid tuition that was settled with the alleged victim. The settlement ended a federal suit filed anonymously by a student who accused the school and Altman of violating her Title IX rights. She accused Altman of recruiting Brandon Austin, one of the basketball players she says raped her last year, without regard to disciplinary action at his previous school, Providence, for a similar accusation. Lawyers for the woman, identified in court records as Jane Doe, argued that Altman knew or should have known of Austin’s past.
What’s the difference between what happened at Baylor and Oregon?
What has likely saved Altman and Oregon: Austin was never charged and convicted with sexual misconduct in the cases at Providence and Oregon. He was suspended for a year at Providence while an investigation took place. He decided to transfer to Oregon, where he never played because of the allegations involved in a gang rape in 2013.
In both cases involving Ukwuachu and Austin, Briles and Altman claimed they did not know of the athletes’ troubled past. Chris Petersen, then the Boise State coach now at Washington, claims he “thoroughly apprised” Briles of the circumstances surrounding Ukwuachu’s disciplinary record and dismissal. Providence coach Ed Cooley reportedly told Altman that Austin was being investigated but did not offer specifics.
Other than the alleged illegal sexual acts, the most upsetting aspect of these cases is the lack of accountability by coaches who are paid millions and should know better. Even if Briles and Altman did not know of the prior transgressions, they certainly should have considering their position and Title IX implications.
Their claims of not knowing what occurred before the players transferred to their schools also shoots down the notion they had any compassion to try to rectify the lives of these alleged wayward young men.
Another disturbing development to come out of this: What happens to athletes who honestly seek to turn their lives around from a troubled upbringing and unfortunate circumstances they may have put themselves into? What happens to their second chance? Their opportunity for a scholarship and continued education?
Coaches and institutions will not be as willing to take on such risks because of what has occurred at Baylor and Oregon in recent years. This is a result of coaches not accepting responsibility, failing to make the most of the opportunity of taking these young men under their wings, provide counseling and making every attempt to insure they become upstanding citizens instead of only better athletes.
We want to believe that coaches can rectify young lives by offering a second chance to kids who need somebody by their side. It is difficult for us to place trust in that belief any more. The fallout from the Baylor crisis tells us winning means everything at a college institution when it really should not.
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