Baylor, Art Briles Release Joint Statement Regarding Termination

Baylor University and Art Briles have officially announced the end of their employment relationship this evening in a joint statement that contains about 90 total words.  From Baylor's website:

Baylor University and Art Briles have mutually agreed to terminate their employment relationship, effective immediately. Both parties acknowledge that there were serious shortcomings in the response to reports of sexual violence by some student-athletes, including deficiencies in University processes and the delegation of disciplinary responsibilities with the football program. Baylor is addressing these shortcomings and making ongoing improvements.

Baylor wishes Coach Briles well in his future endeavors. Coach Briles expresses his thanks to the City of Waco and wishes the Baylor Bears success in the future.

The acknowledgement by both sides of "serious shortcomings in the response to reports of sexual violence" is the most noteworthy part, and something I didn't entirely expect.  Following the news of the settlement between the parties, I anticipated that there would be some sort of confidentiality agreement to keep Briles' public statements to a minimum, rather than what appears to be an admission of sorts.  Hopefully, this will give some measure of solace, however small, to the victims of that violence and help convince those people that continued to believe Briles never should have been fired at all that the school has done the right thing.

We'll keep you posted on new developments if/when they occur.  I think I can speak for everyone here at ODB when I thank Coach Briles for everything he accomplished on the field at Baylor while also wishing him the best in his future endeavors.  It's time for Baylor fans to rally around those that remain here while working to make our school a better place for everyone.