Art Briles’s daughter blames termination on media ‘witch hunt’

In response to Baylor announcing its plans to fire her father, Art Briles, on Thursday, Staley Lebby posted a long message on Facebook to voice her anger with the decision.

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Staley Lebby, the daughter of Art Briles, posted a long message on Facebook to voice her anger with Baylor's decision to fire the football coach. 

Lebby, who is married to passing game coordinator Jeff Lebby, defended her father’s character in the post, and wrote that the coach's termination was the result of a media “witch hunt.”

Baylor announced it had suspended Briles with the “intent to terminate” on Thursday amid the controversy over the school’s handling of rape allegations involving football players. A school-commissioned investigation by law firm Pepper Hamilton found that heads of the football program had purposefully failed to report a pattern of sexual violence among its players.

Two former Baylor players have been convicted of rape, and the school is accused of improperly responding to at least six sexual assault reports since 2009.

• ROSENBERG: Art Briles's firing confirms rotten culture tolerated to win​

“I just stopped crying long enough to be able to write this. But this is all I will say on this outrageous situation - anyone who knows my dad knows he is a man of incredible character and faith. He is one of the most giving & unselfish people I've ever been around. He has been through so much in his life and always been a fighter - he's done everything the right way and for the right reasons. He has always wanted to take over programs that were suffering, like he once did, to take them to the top, which he has done at multiple places. He wanted to be successful for his parents and make them proud. He has worked his ass off in his 40 years of coaching to get to where he is today - he has NEVER been fired, his character has NEVER been questioned and he has NEVER been deemed to do anything unethically.”

“There is always so much more to a story than being told. This media witch hunt has been the most disturbing thing I've ever witnessed. The situation has been blown so out of proportion. Sadly, Baylor was influenced heavily by the media and felt pressured to let him go. I guess a man that has resurrected your program and made you a top 10 program wasn't worth fighting for or defending.”

• Baylor players react to Art Briles termination

Briles served as the head coach at Baylor from 2008 through last season, posting a 65–37 record in that time and leading the team to BCS bowl games in 2013 and 2014.