Nearly three years after being fired from Baylor University for his handling of a sexual assault scandal, Art Briles is back to coaching with a new job as head football coach at a Texas high school. In a press release announcing the news late Friday, Mount Vernon High School said Briles had signed a two-year contract to lead the team and would begin coaching in the fall. Briles, who had trouble landing a job in the U.S. after leaving Baylor in disgrace in 2016, said in a statement that he was “excited” to be coaching again. “You'll make no bigger impact in this world than when you shape the lives of young people—one practice, one game, and one life at a time,” he said. Many on social media were quick to condemn Briles’ hiring. “Yes, Art, the Baylor rape survivors are very aware of your impact on young lives,” Brenda Tracy, an activist and sexual assault survivor, wrote on Twitter. Briles was fired from Baylor after an internal investigation found that at least 17 women had been raped by more than a dozen players over the period of a few years. A civil lawsuit put the number of sexual assaults much higher. Briles was accused of turning a blind eye to the sexual violence at the time, though he has denied knowing about the assaults.
