The man told FoxSports.com it is “unbelievable that they would even entertain the idea.”
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Yet in the past week there have been several reports that high-dollar donors and boosters may be pressing for Briles to return, a sentiment interim university president David Garland not only acknowledged but — at least tepidly — said he understood.
And that as much as anything is what bothered the family member, who momentarily gathered his thoughts, according to FoxSports.com, before responding in more detail.
“I’m surprised they haven’t (shot it down) because it’s a place in crisis mode, and they’re trying to recover their image,” he said. “But then again, I’m not really that surprised because obviously this type of thing has been their method of action all along. We were led to believe one thing that was happening, when it wasn’t. It’s actually very similar to how they handled things before (in their case).
“This is a very dirty place that we’ve seen has been very conniving and low down. It’s hard to fathom because not only is this a university, but it’s a Christian university.”
He also echoed an attorney for a victim whose attacker, a Baylor football player, was convicted of rape when the family member said it’s beyond troubling that Briles’ staff — implicated in Pepper Hamilton’s “Findings of Fact” report — has remained virtually intact under interim coach Jim Grobe: “Those other guys still being there is a huge problem.”
Yet while he conceded he’s angered by chatter about a return by Briles — who was suspended with intent to terminate on May 26 — the man added, “I’ve hit that point now that I don’t know if I can get any madder.”
Meanwhile, at Baylor on Tuesday, Garland had a TV news crew that was seeking comment on Briles’ situation thrown off campus, KCEN-TV reported, but not before the interim school president admitted he had been instructed not to speak to the media.
The Waco-based TV crew, after being told Garland wouldn’t speak, was told it could wait outside the president’s office in a parking lot. After the crew tried to speak to Garland as he passed through the parking lot, and was rebuffed, a university security officer asked the crew to leave.
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That comes in the wake of his interview Monday in which he said he was caught off guard by the booster push regarding Briles.
According to KCEN-TV, Baylor spokeswoman Tonya Lewis ignored several phone calls Tuesday but responded to the stations questions with two emails.
“We can confirm, there was no vote regarding the employment status of Art Briles,” Lewis said of Monday’s Regents meeting.
