Updates from Baylor, Amherst

An additional lawsuit was filed against Baylor at the end of last week. A former female student alleges she was raped by two football players in 2013 while other players recorded the assault and shared the video. The school took two years to investigate the assault. It suspended and eventually expelled one of the players. The other transferred. The lawsuit, like the others, cites a culture of sexual violence at Baylor; a culture Ken Starr claimed did not exist both while he was president of the university and even after his departure.

New information, though, has emerged from this filing. Previously, we have known about the 17 incidents since 2011 that involved 19 players. The lawsuit states that there have been 52 sexual assaults (within an unnamed 4-year period) by 30 football players. The increase is likely due to the fact that the woman who filed the lawsuit was a member of a campus group organized to show football recruits around during visits. Members were supposed to be available for sex; a tool used to sell Baylor to the prospective players. Art Briles's attorney said the former coach, who himself is involved in litigation with the school, denies such a culture existed under his leadership.

With little attention, Amherst College announced before the start of the current semester, that they had concluded their investigation of the offensive messages sent by members of the men's cross country team. Sanctions include suspensions ranging from several meets to the remainder of an athlete's Amherst career. All members must undergo an "educational process" and the team is on probation until 2018.