The Real Tragedy In Ken Starr's "Demotion" At Baylor

I’m not sure it truly counts as karma, but it is certainly tragically ironic that Ken Starr has been stripped of his title as President of Baylor University over the mishandling of sexual assault cases by members of the football team. “Mishandling” may be a bit of an understatement, as it looks more like willfully turning a blind eye. In one of the cases, a Boise State football player who had been dismissed from the team for erratic and sometimes suicidal behavior was able to transfer to Baylor despite, Boise State claims, being warned by Boise State of the danger.  Baylor, however, denies it was warned. That player went on to be convicted of essentially raping a freshman soccer player.

The irony, of course, is that Mr. Starr was the inquisitor who, as special prosecutor, turned the investigation of the faux scandals of Whitewater and Vince Foster’s suicide into an exploration of President Clinton’s sex life. The tragedy, however, is not Mr. Starr’s loss of title – he will, after all, still continue to be paid his current salary and maintain his position as a professor at Baylor Law School. It is hardly a punishment at all. No, the tragedy is for the victims of these assaults who were essentially the price to be paid for the millions of dollars that Baylor’s football program brings in to the university.  The deeper tragedy is that the situation at Baylor seems to be the norm across the country in big-time college athletic programs.