WACO, Texas (ABP) — A Baylor University seminary student who lost his scholarship in 2003 for being gay has also
lost a lawsuit the school filed against him for alleged lewd conduct.
McLennan County, Texas, District Court Judge Alan Mayfield ruled in July that Matt Bass has to pay the school $77,000
in damages and court fees for allegedly sending offensive e-mails to school personnel.
Bass was forced to leave Baylor's George W. Truett Theological Seminary after his scholarship was revoked because he
declined to answer school officials' questions about his sexuality. A seminary official at the time told Associated
Baptist Press the school would not discipline a student for advocating for gay rights, but it would for living a
“homosexual lifestyle.”
Baylor personnel received the offensive e-mails in the fall of 2004. In January, Baylor filed suit against Bass for
allegedly sending e-mails which often were disguised to look as if they came from seminary employees. The suit said the
messages contained “highly offensive pornographic images and/or lewd descriptions of various sexual acts attributable
to various Baylor employees or their family members.”
Other e-mails had “inflammatory sacrilegious and pornographic content attributing various sexual activities to Jesus
Christ,” the suit alleged.
In addition, the lawsuit claimed Bass sent false press releases, disguised to look as if they came from Truett
officials. One erroneously reported that seminary dean Paul Powell had died.
Baylor officials said they traced the e-mails to a computer in Bass' home.
Bass reportedly did not contest the lawsuit. In an Aug. 4 e-mailed response to queries from an ABP reporter, Bass
said he was unable to speak about the case at this time.
However, according to a Washington-based newspaper for the gay community, Bass released a statement shortly after the
ruling saying Baylor had pursued the lawsuit as a form of retribution.
“There is much I could say in my defense; church ministers, activists and friends who are privy to all the details
of the suit have come down squarely behind me,” Bass told the Washington Blade. “However, I chose not to defend
myself in the civil suit brought against me by Baylor because my legal counsel and I do not believe the court in Texas
has proper jurisdiction over me as a resident of Georgia. Additionally, as a full-time student, I simply haven't had
access to the funds necessary for participation in a civil suit. “
After leaving Truett in 2003, Bass was given a scholarship to continue his studies at Candler School of Theology at
Emory University in Atlanta. While Candler is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, the school has a Baptist
studies program supported by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Truett also receives support from CBF.
A Candler official did not answer an ABP reporter's inquiries about Bass' current status at that school. However,
the school earlier issued a statement to the Blade, saying, “We take seriously the responsibility of Candler to
its students, the church and the community, as well as the standards and procedures in place regarding student
conduct.”