Ex-Baylor aid officer files Title IX lawsuit against school

The sexual assault scandal that gutted the Baylor football program has rose back to the top, following a federal Title IX lawsuit filed by a former financial aid officer, according to Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach of ESPN.

Lyn Wheeler Kinyon, a former assistant vice president for student financial aid, was fired for what she claims was retaliation for reinstating a football player's scholarship that she alleges was improperly revoked over sexual assault allegations.

In July 2016, Kinyon chaired an appeal committee that voted to allegedly reinstate defensive tackle Jeremy Faulk, only to have her new supervisor fire her months later.

Faulk is not named in the lawsuit, but his case lines up with the accounts described by Kinyon.

The football player had his scholarship revoked, after Baylor administrators heard about sexual assault allegations, though the Title IX office had not notified Faulk he was being investigated.

In the lawsuit, it states the player "had not committed sexual assault, was wrongfully accused of unspecified misconduct, kicked off the football team, denied his scholarship, housing and meal allowance on May 30, 2016."

Faulk said previously that he had consensual sex with the woman who claimed to be sexually assaulted, resulting in police filing no criminal charges.

Kinyon also claims the sexual activity was consensual.

When Faulk returned to campus on May 30 for the summer semester, the lawsuit alleges he was told he had been removed from the program and was denied having housing.

On June 1, school officials requested Faulk to sign a release that would allow them to receive his student records from Florida Atlantic where he played from 2013-14.

Six days later, Baylor officials told Faulk he had been dismissed from the team, where Faulk was then notified by the Title IX office of a complaint filed against him.

Faulk appealed the decision, where during the hearing, according to the lawsuit, "Baylor's representatives dropped the allegation that (Faulk) had been involved in sexual activity in violation of Title IX as justification for rescission of the scholarship, although the allegation of sexual misconduct were the sole motivating factor for Baylor's termination of his scholarship."

The lawsuit alleges school officials changed course, stating Faulk was untruthful in his transfer papers from Florida Atlantic, failing to mention any "academic or behavioral misconduct."

During his time at Florida Atlantic, Faulk was placed on academic probation, while campus police were called to an incident involving Faulk and a friend bursting through a door to a teammate's room when the teammate was naked in bed with his girlfriend. No charges were filed.

The appeals committee voted to reinstate Faulk, after gaining reassurance it would not face retaliation from the school over the decision.

In October, after formally ending its investigation, the Title IX office informed Faulk the complaint would be suspended, providing Faulk agreed to never seek readmission to Baylor and never return to campus.

That same month, interim head coach Jim Grobe disputed a statement made by the school that said Grobe was involved in the decision to remove Faulk from the program.

Kinyon was fired from her position in November.