Grambling State football’s rejuvenation started this past December when former NFL head coach Hue Jackson was hired as the Tigers’ new head coach.
In his introductory press conference, Jackson, who replaced Broderick Fobbs, thanked Grambling legends James “Shack” Harris and Doug Williams, paid homage to his Louisiana roots and promised to add a new chapter to the storied program.
“I am honored to be part of the Grambling family as the 14th head coach of the Grambling State Tigers football team,” said Jackson. “I am also excited to add a new and exciting chapter to this history, and to this great institution.”
This past week, Jackson added a new chapter to the program’s history, yet it wasn’t the good one that he hoped for.
On Thursday, Jackson announced that he hired former Baylor head coach Art Briles as his offensive coordinator.
And that was definitely offensive to many.
Briles led the Bears to national prominence, amassing a record of 65-37 during his eight years at Baylor. But he also disgraced the program by ignoring the culture of sexual assault that blossomed under his watch.
Between 2012 and 2016, multiple players were accused of sexual assault and rape during his tenure. Crimes were reported yet either no action was taken, investigations were delayed, charges were dropped, or, in the case of two players, they were tried and convicted.
On April 5th, 2012, Baylor football player Tevin Elliot raped a Baylor student at an off-campus party. 12 days after the victim’s report, Elliot was suspended and 3 days after that, he was arrested. Two years later, he was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
On October 19th, 2013, a Baylor soccer player accused defensive end Sam Ukwuachu of raping her at his apartment. Two months later, a school judicial official dismissed the charges, stating that the evidence essentially couldn’t back up her claim. Two years later, Ukwuachu was convicted of the crime and sentenced to 6 months in jail and 10 years probation. He served more than two months before being released.
While those two were actually convicted, many others escaped punishment.
That’s what Briles fostered and the type of player he coached and excused.
And while he was finally fired in 2016, he received $15.1 million in a financial settlement with the school.
While he cashed his millions, he left the school facing violations and lawsuits. But even more significant was the pain, suffering, torment, and humiliation his reign left on their victims.
Women were left coping with unspeakable trauma and fighting to recover their mental and physical selves. His response?
Basically, “my bad.”
“There were some bad things that happened under my watch,” Briles said at the time. “And for that, I’m sorry….I was wrong. I’m sorry. I’m going to learn. I’m going to get better.
“It just appalls me that somebody could victimize another human being,” he continued. “And there’s no place in society for it. And I’ve never condoned it and never will and never put up with it.
“These players are part of our program and representatives of our program. And when they do wrong, then it reflects on me and the university. So I do feel responsibility.”
The reflection says a lot about your character and morals.
For a man, especially one with daughters, to let those vicious crimes occur without punishment, or in many cases, even serious acknowledgment, simply proves that wins dwarfed the well-being of people.
Briles Gets Redemption Through An HBCU?
So Hue, this is who you want with you?
This is the type of man you want to bring into a new environment where you’re already under the microscope?
This is the type of man you want by your side while you stand in the shadow of the legendary Eddie Robinson?
Unfortunately, Grambling seems content with Briles’ hiring.
“I know a lot of things are said and done,” said Athletic Director Trayveon Scott to ESPN. “We felt it [was appropriate] to give him a chance to really redeem himself after understanding where the facts lie.”
Some do deserve redemption.
But of all of the coaches to hire, you bring the one with such horrific baggage? At the start of a rebuilding process?
And why must Grambling, a cherished Black institution, be the vessel for his redemption?
With the NFL’s blatant racism towards Black head coaches, you couldn’t find a talented and qualified Black offensive coordinator to hire at one of the most legendary HBCU football programs in history?
Instead, you hire a white coach who cultivated and enabled a culture of sexual assault.
This is yet another example of how white coaches can simply be recycled despite their poor records or horrid actions.
Yet now they get the benefit of the doubt at an HBCU institution.
As you can surmise, Grambling royalty was not pleased with Briles’ hiring.
“I’m very, very disappointed in Grambling, I really am,” said Doug Williams to The Washington Post. “I talked to the (athletic director) a couple times. They knew where I stood, but they did it and if that’s what they want to do, that’s fine. I’m out.”
Williams believes that if he supports the program, he condones Briles’ behavior at Baylor, and that’s not something he’s going to do.
If you have morals and believe in character, you’ll echo Williams’ sentiment.
The HBCU Version Of “The Program”
Some will rush to Briles’ defense, saying that he didn’t actually commit the crime and deserves another chance.
But people like Briles, while they don’t commit the crime, are enablers. They cover their eyes to shield themselves from the truth, thus contributing to the behavior’s growth.
“A lot of people will say, ‘Well, he didn’t rape anyone. He didn’t sexually assault anyone.’ No, but he enabled that type of a culture,” said Brenda Tracy, who speaks on ending sexual violence and who, herself, was a victim of gang rape. “He maintained that type of a culture where people were harmed, and it’s not always about the victim and the perpetrator, but it’s all the people around them. That’s how you get a Larry Nassar. This is how you get a Baylor scandal, because of all the people, like him, that are involved.”
If you’ve ever seen the movie “The Program”, you recognize this type of behavior.
“Win” is the only mantra. Everything else gets swept under the rug.
Lattimore was caught using steroids, warned about it, viciously attacked and sexually assaulted a student and was still allowed to play simply because he was too good not to.
In that film coach Winters (James Caan) was Art Briles.
Winters didn’t commit the crime, but he enabled Lattimer’s behavior through inaction.
That’s exactly what Briles did.
He wasn’t convicted of a crime or found to have violated any bylaw, but the NCAA’s investigation eviscerated the culture he developed and managed.
Now Hue Jackson is coach Winters.
He’s already facing pressure from the school, fan base and alumni who expect the Tigers’ winning ways to return after a 4-7 season, so why provide fuel to the combustible pressure cooker he’s already in?
Jackson and Scott took a football-first approach in hiring Briles.
They hope that Briles’ gridiron talents will overshadow his massive failure off the field at Baylor. If they win and the offense puts up big numbers, Briles gets his redemption.
Kansas thought the same thing about Les Miles and that experiment cost Miles, athletic director Jeff Long and the university big time.
Hue Jackson should have left Briles on his path to redemption at the high school level. With all of the positive attention HBCUs have received lately, and all of the problems Black NFL head coaches are encountering, Jackson should have looked elsewhere.
Regardless of the numbers Grambling might put up with Briles, the only one that matters is the number of victims Briles left behind in Waco.
And that number should have been reason enough not to call Briles in the first place.
