Hue Jackson Defends Hiring Art Briles as Grambling State OC After Criticism

Grambling State football coach Hue Jackson has defended his hiring of Art Briles, the former Baylor head coach fired in 2016 for his handling of sexual assault allegations made against several football players in the program.

The decision to hire Briles as Grambling State's offensive coordinator sparked strong criticism, but Jackson stood by it in a written statement Monday:

"The Hue Jackson Foundation has been dedicated to fighting against ALL forms of sexual abuse and exploitation as well as other forms of racial and social bias. We have a clear understanding of the role that coaches and others who have a position of trust play in the lives of those they meet."

"We also know and understand the process of identifying risks, helping others to heal, and the importance of prevention. We believe that through the hiring of Coach Briles and the well-developed programs we have in place, this hire will be instrumental in teaching others the importance of knowing how to prevent victimization, proper reporting procedures, provide adequate resources to individuals who have been victimized and develop strong law enforcement partnerships within the community."

Baylor fired Briles after an independent investigation by law firm Pepper Hamilton found that he ran a program with "no culture of accountability for misconduct" and noted "significant concerns about the tone and culture within Baylor's football program as it relates to accountability for all forms of athlete misconduct" (h/t Andrea Adelson of ESPN). 

It found that players were "above the rules" and that "in certain instances, including reports of a sexual assault by multiple football players, athletics and football personnel affirmatively chose not to report sexual violence and dating violence to an appropriate administrator outside of athletics."

Briles, the University of Baylor and former athletic director Ian McCaw still have a pending lawsuit against them.

In 2017, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League hired Briles as a coach, only to reverse course hours later after intense public backlash. 

Southern Mississippi considered Briles for an offensive coordinator opening in 2019 and met with him but decided against hiring him. The school's Committee on Services and Resources for Women "adamantly opposed" his potential hiring.

He worked for the Guelfi Firenze in Italy in 2018 and Texas' Mount Vernon High School in 2019 and 2020 before the Grambling State job.

In an interview on KTAL-TV on Thursday after his hiring (via ESPN's Mark Schlabach), Briles said:

"I'll do exactly what I'm required to do and what they expect of me, which is to be a very solid citizen, to be a positive leader on a day-in and day-out basis, to do everything I can do to protect our students and our student-athletes on campus and to represent the Grambling University to the best of my ability because I'm very humble and grateful to be at this university."

But the backlash has been significant, even from important school figures. 

"It certainly put me in a tough situation being a supporter of Grambling football," former team quarterback and coach Doug Williams told ESPN's John Keim. "I don't know Art Briles, but it doesn't sit well with me."