For the first time, a Texas jury has found Baylor University liable for failing to prevent violence against a student amid the scandal that brought down Football Coach Art Briles and President Ken Starr.
In 2016, Dolores Lozano filed a lawsuit against the Baptist school alleging officials were negligent in handling her reports of domestic violence and, as a result, violated her rights under the Title IX federal civil rights law.
Delores Lozano (Source: Delores Lozano)
Lozano, who was assaulted by her Baylor football player boyfriend, was among more than a dozen women who made similar allegations and said the university looked away when reports of violence committed by football players were made.
Also in 2016, another 15 women filed suit against the university on similar claims. Baylor settled that claim out of court just weeks before a jury awarded Lozano $270,000 in damages from Baylor.
Those 15 women claimed Baylor “permitted a campus condition rife with sexual assault” and ignored reports of sexual violence on campus. They also said the university’s disregard of reported sexual assault violated federal Title IX protections against sex-based discrimination.
While the scandal toppled Briles — who was exceedingly popular as a winning football coach — and Starr — who was best known as the special counsel who accused former U.S. President Bill Clinton — Baylor has not been held accountable in the court of law as much as in the court of public opinion.
In the aftermath of the scandal, Baylor hired its first female president and instituted reforms on Title IX reporting. Although losing more football games, the university has thrived in every other way, from fundraising to student recruitment and to obtaining status as a Tier 1 research university.
Details of the October trial were reported in Texas Monthly.
A jury of five women and three men found Baylor had exhibited “deliberate indifference” to reports of sexual harassment, sexual assault and domestic violence. The jury did not award monetary damages to Lozano on that count but did award $270,000 for her claim that Baylor was negligent in its failure to prevent violence from occurring. That award was $50,000 more than what her attorney had asked for.
The trial included testimony from both Briles and former Athletic Director Ian McCaw.
According to Texas Monthly: “Both men testified that they didn’t receive training in their responsibilities under Title IX until after Lozano had graduated, which (Lozano’s attorney Zeke Fortenberry) argued was evidence that Baylor was negligent in its duty to comply with the law.”
Baylor’s attorney argued Lozano was “not a battered woman” and was “not in an abusive relationship.”
The magazine further reported: “Baylor’s counsel took a surprising position. Instead of arguing that the incident Lozano reported was unfortunate but not the fault of the university, attorney Julie Springer tried to persuade the jurors that Lozano had been dishonest about it. Relying on contemporaneous notes from a nurse practitioner who had examined Lozano and on a deposition from (the boyfriend) — who downplayed the incident and described Lozano as the aggressor — Springer argued that Lozano didn’t actually suffer the injuries she claimed to have suffered.”
Baylor’s attorney argued Lozano was “not a battered woman” and was “not in an abusive relationship.”
For her part, Lozano testified she received counseling services from the university after she reported the incident but felt judged because she admitted to having premarital sex with her boyfriend — something that goes against Baylor’s student code of conduct — and having an abortion.
“Was it really counseling when she walked out feeling like she was going to hell?” her attorney argued. “They weren’t there to help her break the cycle of domestic violence.”
The Baylor Line, an independent alumni publication, recorded an interview with Dan Solomon, senior editor at Texas Monthly, about the details of the trial. That interview is available online.
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