Art Briles Apologizes for Events at Baylor During Tenure as Head Coach

Former Baylor head coach Art Briles apologized to the victims who were sexually assaulted during his tenure at the university and said he "could have done more" in an interview with ESPN's Tom Rinaldi that aired Saturday.

When Rinaldi asked how he would address the victims, Briles responded: "I'd tell them I'm extremely sorry. My heart aches. We'd probably have hopefully a good cry session and then a talk session and hopefully a hug session. Because it just appalls me that somebody could victimize another human being. There's no place in society for it, and I've never condoned it and never will."

Baylor fired Briles in May amid a school-wide scandal regarding its handling of sexual assault cases, with a number of football players either accused or convicted of sexual assault.

Notably, the law firm Pepper Hamilton—hired by the university to investigate its handling of sexual assault cases—saved its harshest critique for the football team. It stated the team "hindered enforcement of rules and policies and created a cultural perception that football was above the rules," per Nicole Auerbach of USA Today.

Former Baylor player Tevin Elliott was convicted of two counts of sexual assault and sentenced to 20 years in prison in January 2014, and former player Sam Ukwuachu was convicted of second-degree sexual assault and sentenced to 180 days in jail and 10 years' probation in August 2015. Former player Shawn Oakman was indicted on a charge of second-degree sexual assault in July as well.

In June, Briles accused Baylor of using him as a scapegoat for its failings, per Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com:

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"The conclusion is inescapable that the motive of Baylor University and the Board of Regents was to use its Head Football Coach and the Baylor Athletic Department as a camouflage to disguise and distract from its own institutional failure to comply with Title IX and other federal civil rights laws," the letter states, reflecting the first public comments Briles has made on the controversy since his termination in May.

"It is equally clear from the actions of Baylor University and the Board of Regents, both in the media and in its oral and written communications with Coach Briles since his wrongful termination, that they have ignored and repeatedly violated the clear duties that they owe under Texas law and by contract to Art Briles.

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Nonetheless, Briles acknowledged his own failings in his interview with Rinaldi.

"I feel responsibility. I do," he said. "These players are part of our program, and representative of our program, and when they do wrong, then it reflects on me and the university. So, I do feel responsibility."