Baylor University and former head football coach Art Briles have reportedly reached a contract settlement, one day after Briles accused the university of wrongful termination in a motion filed as part of a federal lawsuit.
Bleacher Report’s Jason King first reported the contract settlement on Friday.
Baylor has reached a contract settlement with former football coach Art Briles, sources tell B/R. Details unclear.
— Jason King (@JasonKingBR) June 17, 2016
Briles was suspended “with intent to terminate” on May 26 as part of Baylor’s response to findings from the Pepper Hamilton law firm, which was hired to investigate how Baylor handled sexual assault allegations.
Related: Briles Seeks Personal Legal Representation, Could Sue Baylor
Briles issued a statement on June 2, saying in part that the findings in the Pepper Hamilton report “has not been shared with me directly, despite my full cooperation with the investigation.” Briles also said, “I have certainly made mistakes and, in hindsight, I would have done certain things differently.”
The filing Thursday says Briles was fired without a pre-termination hearing, which was required by his contract. Briles reportedly has eight years and roughly $40 million left on that contract.
“The conclusion is inescapable that the motive of Baylor University and the Board of Regents was to use its Head Football Coach and the Baylor Athletic Department as a camouflage to disguise and distract from its own institutional failure to comply with Title IX and other federal civil rights laws,” Briles lawyer Ernest Cannon wrote to Baylor’s attorneys in the filing.
Related: Briles Issues Statement; Starr Resigns as Chancellor
Briles is a co-defendant with Baylor University’s board of regents and former athletic director Ian McCaw in the federal lawsuit that was filed in March by a former Baylor student who was raped by a Baylor football player in 2012.
Another lawsuit was filed Wednesday by three women who claim they are victims of sexual assault, including one who said she was assaulted by a Baylor football player on campus in April 2014.
There were reports earlier this week that the Baylor board of regents was mulling the possibility of Briles returning to coach Baylor in 2017 after a one-year suspension. Former Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe was named Baylor’s interim coach before McCaw resigned at the end of May.
Related: Report: Baylor Board of Regents Mulling Briles Comeback
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