Less than a week after it was announced that Art Briles would be Hue Jackson’s offensive coordinator at Grambling, Briles decided to step down, resigning from the staff on Monday. The hiring was met with criticism and outrage from both within and outside of the Grambling community. UL system president Dr. Jim Henderson agrees with Briles’ decision.
“I think this is the best outcome for everybody involved, including Coach Briles,” said Henderson. “It shows that our process works.
Dr. Henderson said that the UL System has made student safety a priority and that the hiring of Briles sent a message that was inconsistent with the values they have worked to promote and rules they have committed to enforce.
“We have a put a lot of effort into revamping power-based violence rules on our campuses to ensure that our students have confidence that this is an important issue to us,” he said.
Both Jackson and Grambling athletic director Trayveon Scott said the hiring of Briles was a story of redemption for a talented coach who had made some mistakes. That goes against reports that from 2011 to 2015 Briles ignored or covered up more than 50 sexual and physical assaults by players during his time at Baylor. Henderson says while the intentions may have been good, the decision was not.
“Redemption is a big part of who we are as a people,” Henderson said. “But you also have to look at that big picture and say ‘what’s the impact on our institution and what’s the impact on our broader student population?'”
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