Ken Starr stepping down as Baylor chancellor in wake of scandal


Kenneth Starr, the former president of Baylor University who was demoted to chancellor last week amid criticism of the school's handling of sexual assault allegations against football players, is stepping down from his new role.
Starr told ESPN's Joe Schad on Wednesday he will still teach at Baylor Law School. Baylor is a private Baptist college in Waco, Texas, and as chancellor, Starr would have been in charge of external fundraising. "We need to put this horrible situation behind us," he said. "We need to heal Baylor." Starr, famous for being the special prosecutor who investigated Bill Clinton's sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky, said that to his knowledge, sexual assault was not a major issue at Baylor until last August, when a football player was tried for rape, ABC News reports. He said that he "accepts responsibility" for the scandal but "didn't know about what was happening." ESPN's Paula Lavigne looked at police reports and found that since 2012, campus police officers have handled 12 sexual assault cases.
Critics say the school has ignored allegations of sexual assault by football players, and last week, head football coach Art Briles was suspended with intent to terminate; athletic director Ian McCaw, who was sanctioned and put on probation, resigned on Monday.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
October 5 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include half-truth hucksters, Capitol lockdown, and more
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailout
Talking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deployment
Speed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland