Art Briles, the disgraced former Baylor University head coach who was at the center of a number of scandals, was fired as an offensive assistant coach for the Canadian Football League’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats less than 12 hours after being hired.
After no more than 11 hours after being hired, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats backtracked on Briles’ hiring after the outpouring backlash from the public.
The CFL and Tiger-Cats released a statement on Monday regarding Briles’ employment:
“Art Briles will no longer be joining the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as a coach.
‘We came to this decision this evening following a lengthy discussion between the league and the Hamilton organization. We wish Mr. Briles all the best in his future endeavors.”
Scott Mitchell, the Tiger-Cats CEO said that Briles will no longer join the team as a coach due to what he called a “tsunami of negativity”.
via ESPN:
Mitchell addressed the controversial decision during a radio interview Tuesday with SN590 The Fan in Toronto, reiterating that he thought Briles deserved a second chance to coach. Mitchell acknowledged, however, that the Tiger-Cats underestimated the negative reaction that would follow the announcement of Briles’ hiring.
“Most of the tsunami of negativity started in the [United] States,” Mitchell said. “I think most of the social media activity was generated out of the States, where Art Briles and Baylor is still a very, very fresh issue. I think we clearly underestimated that. …
“We underestimated the tsunami of negativity that was going to happen, and we made a mistake in trying to contemplate a second chance versus the impact of what had happened at Baylor. … I think as the day went on, it just became very clear that despite the fact that most people in life believe in second chances, it just became very clear that this was just not acceptable to people.”
Briles was fired as head coach of the Baylor University football team in May 2016 amid allegations he was aware of multiple instances of players involved in domestic violence and sexual assaults and did nothing about it.
During Briles tenure, Baylor University allegedly covered up multiple crimes committed by the school’s football team players.
