This is a face of assault at Baylor.
A graduate of the scandal-drenched university has gone public with the allegations of repeated domestic violence she says she made against a Baylor football player in 2014, telling reporter Joe Schad that former head coach Art Briles and other university staff had knowledge of her case and tried to downplay it.
Dolores Lozano, in documents prepared by her attorneys, alleges she was attacked by running back Devin Chafin on three separate occasions in the course of two months during their relationship. The violence included being “slapped,” “kicked,” “forcibly and aggressively grabbed,” “slammed” against a wall, into a car and to the ground, and “choked … until she lost feeling in her body.”
She supplied Schad with photos allegedly taken around the time of the incidents, which appear to show significant bruising on her left arm and shoulder.
“Dolores has tried hard to get past this, but believes it’s important for others to know they can seek help,” said Ricky Patel, Lozano’s attorney, who is preparing a Title IX lawsuit against Baylor. “This should send a message to those in power to provide help to those who need it.”
Chafin did not face any discipline or even a formal student judiciary hearing, though Lozano’s account also details her conversations with Baylor administrators who displayed the bare minimum of concern.
Lozano states Chafin told her Briles was aware of the allegations and his reaction was to tell Chafin to “stay away” from her. She says she exchanged text messages with current running backs coach Jeff Lebby, who kept his job when Briles was fired last month, while considering whether to go to Waco police (she eventually did, though it appears no charges were filed). She also told then-acrobatics and tumbling coach LaPrise Williams, who reported it to her athletics department superior, a university chaplain and counselors at Baylor.
Chafin responded Tuesday by broadly denying the accusations. He said he only grabbed Lozano in self-defense, and disputed her version of the communication with Briles: “The story has been falsely constructed. No one knows the entire story. This girl is not who she claims to be.” Chafin added he thinks Lozano is motivated by “her desire to be in the spotlight … and maybe to get back at me for ignoring her at times.”
Chafin was dismissed from the team … two years later, and then after an arrest for marijuana possession. He scored a combined 18 touchdowns in his sophomore and junior seasons following Lozano’s allegations.
“Baylor turned their backs to what was going on,” Patel said. “The University is a place where people are supposed to feel safe. When something like this happens, it breaks your trust.”
Several women at Baylor reported being the victims of assaults, some sexual in nature, at the hands of football players in recent years. In addition to Briles’ ouster, Baylor university president Ken Starr took a demotion before resigning in disgrace and athletic director Ian McCaw also quit.