Dave Bliss, the controversial men's basketball coach who led Baylor University’s team at the time star player Patrick Dennehy was murdered in 2003, has resigned from his new job, days after a new documentary showed footage of him falsely accusing the dead athlete of dealing drugs.
Bliss was suspended by the NCAA for 10 years following the scandal, but was rehired last year by Southwestern Christian University. He announced his resignation Monday evening, four days after the Showtime documentary Disgraced aired.
Bliss, despite having no evidence for his claims, tried to convice authorities and the public that Dennehy, who was shot dead by then-teammate Carlton Dotson in 2003, paid his tuition by selling drugs. Bliss, in reality, had violated NCAA rules by paying Dennehy’s tuition with his own money. After the murder, when NCAA investigators were close to learning of the violations, Bliss tried to pass the drug-dealing story as fact, going so far as to ask his players to perpetuate the lie.
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Bliss was caught on tape cooking up the lie, and has since admitted doing so multiple times. But in the documentary, he perpetuates it again. “This is off-camera but—he was selling drugs,” he told the interviewer. “He sold to all the white guys on campus,” Bliss says. “Yeah, he was the worst… but you’ll never be able to use this.”
Southwestern Christian President Reggies Wenyika said Monday night that he is committed to seeking new leadership “in a manner that is consistent with the university’s beliefs, standards, and policies.” He wrote, “I accepted Coach Bliss’ resignation earlier today and our prayers and wishes are with him as he transitions."
—Olivia Messer
