WACO, TX – DECEMBER 5: Head coach Art Briles of the Baylor Bears looks on from the sidelines against the Texas Longhorns at McLane Stadium on December 5, 2015 in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

A second Title IX lawsuit has been filed against Baylor University for its handling of reported sexual assaults.

This suit cites three more women as victims of sexual assault. Only one of the victims alleges an assault from a Baylor football player, but another describes her assailant as, “an assistant to the highest officials in the University.”

The claims in the lawsuit echo the same grievances previously made against the university: Victims were deterred from reporting their assaults, subjected to a hostile environment for having done so, and not given the proper support to continue their studies at the school.

An ESPN report shows the particulars of one of the cases cited in the lawsuit.

The woman in Wednesday’s lawsuit who reported the assault involving the football player said she went to a university physician two days after the incident, and the physician “misinformed Jane Doe 1 and concealed from Jane Doe 1 as to her options to further report the incident,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit stated that she also reported the alleged assault to the Baylor campus advocacy center during final exams, but the university did not provide her any assistance, and she was “left to cope with the situation alone and in fear.”

It states that she would see her alleged assailant at football games, would become upset and would be forced to leave. Stress caused her to perform poorly in her classes, the suit says, and she lost her academic scholarship and dropped out after fall 2015.

This lawsuit also indicates the troubles at Baylor extend well beyond Art Briles’ tenure as head coach, and past the football program as well.

The second incident detailed in the lawsuit alleges an assault from 2004 that had bearing on the plaintiff’s attempt to re-enroll at Baylor in 2015. Jane Doe 2, as she’s named, says she was assaulted at a house a few blocks from campus in September 2004, while she was under the age of 18, according to the lawsuit. She reported it to her chaplain at the Baylor dorm and the dorm hall director was informed. She also made a report to Baylor police, whom she states misinformed and concealed from her the consequences for filing a report, which discouraged her from naming the person whom she said assaulted her. When she went to the Baylor Health Center, she said they did a physical exam but not a rape kit.

Baylor’s systemic issues in its response to sexual assaults, including several cases involving athletes, has made national headlines in recent weeks. As a result of these complaints and widespread outcry, the university has made numerous changes in its leadership. Former university President Ken Starr was demoted from his position before eventually resigning, Briles faces pending termination, and athletic director Ian McGraw was suspended before also choosing to resigning. Multiple employees within the athletic department have also been fired.

Baylor is still dealing with ongoing cases, and the ESPN report indicates more may be on the way. You can read the full story here.

[ESPN]

About Ben Sieck

Ben is a recent graduate of Butler University where he served as Managing Editor and Co-Editor-in-Chief for the Butler Collegian. He currently resides in Indianapolis.