Friday, July 25, 2014

UTexas learning from others' mistakes?

Two University of Texas football players were arrested this week on various charges related to a June assault of a female student in the UT dorms.
The woman reported the assault immediately.
Police found text messages between the two men who were trying to get their respective stories straight. There is also at least one photo taken during the assault.
Not a great time for such attention for both first-year football coach Charlie Strong and embattled president Bill Powers. Strong suspended both players for an indefinite time period and there is a school investigation underway and expected to be completed before the end of the summer.
It seems from here that UT is taking the right steps. Investigations were started and will completed in a timely manner. The players were suspended from the team. I suspect the conclusion of the school's investigation will result in protections afforded to the victim. No word on what services the university has offered her in the wake of the incident or whether the men were allowed to stay on campus while both investigations were pending.
This case is a contrast to FSU which waited a significant amount of time before investigating, which never disciplined quarterback Jameis Winston.
And hopefully UT will take a lesson from the Arizona State case where the university allowed back in the dorms a football player who had been kicked out for aggressive behavior against women when he was attending a summer program. When he returned in the fall, he raped a student. The university settled for $850,000 in 2009--five years after the incident.
Obviously this is just the start. Criminal proceedings will follow as well as university sanctions. But UTexas is on the right path at the moment with both athletics and administration working together.