Art Briles' Alleged Texts Regarding Baylor Football Scandals Revealed in Lawsuit

Art Briles has attempted to distance himself from the scandal that ended his tenure with the Baylor Bears, but the former head coach will be under renewed scrutiny after correspondence that allegedly came from Briles was released as part of an ongoing lawsuit. 

The Houston Chronicle's Jenny Dial Creech reported Thursday that texts and emails purportedly show Briles' being made aware of and attempting to cover up infractions committed by football players.

"There are other examples of players who were doing drugs, selling drugs, pulling a gun on another student, assaulting another student," Creech wrote. "Briles' responses via text and email all show he was allowing his players to act above the law. He never pursued proper disciplinary actions against any of them."

On Friday, Mark Schlabach of ESPN provided a statement from former athletic director Ian McCaw's attorney regarding the report:

Last May, Baylor shared a findings of fact conducted by Pepper Hamilton that found the school failed to properly follow Title IX legislation and investigate allegations of sexual assault. The report led to Briles' dismissal.

In an interview with ESPN's Tom Rinaldi in September, Briles acknowledged his and his coaching staff's mistakes but shifted the blame when pressed on specific allegations: "The way the chain usually works is the head coach is last to know. Head coaches are sometimes protected, in certain instances, from minor issues. Now, major issues I was always made aware of."

The lawsuit, which former Baylor assistant athletic director Colin Shillinglaw filed, gives a different picture of Briles.

"Hopefully he's under radar enough they won't recognize name," Briles texted to an assistant coach regarding an underage player who was cited for illegal alcohol consumption, per Creech. "Just trying to keep him away from our judicial affairs folks."

In another example, Briles seemingly played down allegations of a gang rape involving five football players. The court filing claims he received a list of the players from McCaw. Briles then allegedly called the players "some bad dudes" and asked why the victim was around the players in the first place.

According to the Dallas Morning News' Sarah Mervosh, Briles also allegedly said the victim should inform the appropriate authorities about the incident.

Briles filed a libel lawsuit against Baylor officials in December and was seeking more than $1 million in damages. He dropped the lawsuit Wednesday, per Julie Hays and Mikel Lauber of KWTX in Waco, Texas.