Art Briles is known for taking hopeless football teams and turning them around. He helped the University of Houston's less than impressive program before taking a position with Baylor University in 2008. Before Briles, the Bears had the worst football record of any school in the Big 12. Baylor players had not seen a winning season since 1995. Within three short years, Briles changed this by getting the Bears to their first bowl game in 15 years. Despite his obvious success as a coach, the Baylor Board of Regents suspended Briles with intent to fire on May 26, 2016 after a private investigation, carried out by Pepper Hamilton law firm, revealed that Briles and his staff played a major part in covering up sexual allegations made against football players.

The report charges Baylor with the "failure to consistently support" the survivors of sexual abuse on the campus. Though the report addresses campus wide issues, it zeros in on the football program multiple times. The report includes stories of administrators discouraging the act of reporting or using the student conduct process in cases of sexual assault. When coaching staff did meet with complainants and their families, their stories were not pushed to the proper channels. Instead, they were kept quiet and under the rug. Allegations also include threats of retaliation to those survivors who chose to report their perpetrators. Not only did victims meet these threats, but they were also surrounded by hostile environments encouraged by administrators in the football department. Simply put, these men all have a hand in perpetuating rape culture.

Unfortunately, this perpetuation of rape culture carried out by the Baylor football administration is not contained to just one university. Far too often, university leaders are willing to cover up sexual abuse allegations to preserve the school's and the athletic department's image. If you don't believe me, watch The Hunting Ground. Or you can read this letter from a survivor to her attacker, who is a prolific swimmer. This continuation of rape culture needs to stop, and Baylor has taken the first step.

By firing Art Briles and the administrators responsible for sweeping sexual abuse allegations under the rug, the Baylor Board of Regents has broken the cycle. They have made a statement. Before firing Briles, committing crimes of sexual abuse was not acceptable behavior, unless of course you were active in the football program. Before, a woman only had the right to report if her attacker didn't take part in America's favorite pastime. Now, that has changed. Baylor has set its standards and followed its moral code. They have decided that consent is not an option. They have made the victim's personal value equal to that of the player's. They have changed the conversation.

Thank you, Baylor Board of Regents. Thank you for taking this step and for standing up for victims of sexual assault. Thank you for becoming an ally, for telling these people hurt by your administrators and players that they are not in the wrong and do not deserve to be ashamed. Thank you for giving them a voice. Thank you for making people see them, for making people think twice about right and wrong. Thank you for valuing every person's safety and health. Your actions are not unnoticed, and are certainly not unappreciated. Just like you, my heart goes out to survivors impacted by sexual abuse on the Baylor campus and elsewhere.