Some of you may have read the news not too long ago that Ken Starr, the President of Baylor University, was ousted from his position because of the University’s inadequate response to a number of sexual assault cases involving the football team.

Ken Starr? Isn’t that the same guy who was the independent counsel investigating President Clinton over the Paula Jones allegations?

You bet. Ah, the rich irony. Again. So, let’s review:

• Ken Starr, originally hired to investigate the allegations surrounding the death of Vince Foster, which investigation expanded out to include allegations by Paula Jones, who claimed that Clinton had sexually assaulted her while the Governor of Arkansas.
• It was that investigation that brought us Monika Lewinsky, when the Starr team asked Clinton about her under oath. It was his denial of a “sexual relationship” while under oath that led to the attempt to have Clinton impeached. Clinton was neither impeached nor prosecuted, but he eventually settled with Jones and had his law license suspended for several years in Arkansas.
• Starr went on to become the President and Chancellor of Baylor University, a “nationally ranked Christian University,” where in recent years there had been many allegations of sexual assault made against members of the University’s football team. [1]
• An independent report authored by the law firm Pepper Hamilton, hired to conduct an independent review for three academic years beginning in fall 2012, found “a fundamental failure” by the university both to enact Title IX of the Civil Rights Act (which prohibits sex discrimination in education) and to implement the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. The report also noted “significant concerns about the tone and culture within Baylor’s football program as it relates to accountability for all forms of athlete misconduct.”[2]

So, if there is ANY University President in the United States of America who should be aware of the need to respond promptly and thoroughly to allegations of sexual assault, you would think it would be Ken Starr. The man who made his name prosecuting Bill Clinton for that very same thing.

Sorry America. Our hypocrisy is not like theirs.

[1] Starr was blamed for the school’s failure in handling rape and sexual assault reports. Baylor is accused of failing to respond to reports of rape or sexual assault filed by at least six female students from 2009 to 2016. Two former football players, Tevin Elliott and Sam Ukwuachu, have been convicted of rape. Elliot is currently serving a 20-year sentence after his conviction in January 2014.

[2] Despite being stripped of his presidency, Starr was allowed to continue as Baylor’s chancellor and as a professor at the school. The news came out yesterday that Starr resigned the Chancellorship as well.