A scandal sparked by allegations of women getting sexually assaulted by football players was used as ammo to take a shot at Baylor University.
During the halftime show of Friday night's football game between Baylor and Rice University, Rice's marching band faced Baylor fans and formed the roman numeral version of nine.
The "IX" is an obvious reference to the Title IX lawsuit against Baylor University, which claims that the school ignored and covered up multiple accusations of sexual assault against their football players.
That same lawsuit got Ken Starr removed in May from his position as university president and chancellor. Rice's Marching Owls made sure to reference that as well.
After making the "IX" formation, the band turned around and formed a star while reported playing "Hit The Road Jack."
More from the MOB. Referring to Ken Starr while playing Hit the Road Jack pic.twitter.com/UBRY7vHLNM — Adam Coleman (@RiceChron) September 17, 2016
Because of the sensitive subject the marching band referenced, there's no question the performance rubbed some observers the wrong way.
The scandal at Baylor became widespread news this past May when the university released the results of an independent investigation. The findings exposed the school's failure to properly investigate multiple cases of sexual assault over a number of years.
In one case, an athlete was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2014, but not before his name was involved in six different sexual assault claims.
ESPN announcer Adam Amin shed further light on controversy, discussing the "tone deaf nature" of colleges that fail to investigate rape on campus.
Here you go @scATX pic.twitter.com/A8d2PiJPJn — James Tyler (@JamesTylerESPN) September 17, 2016
As for Rice's marching band, it has a history of taking stabs at other schools' scandals. In 2012, the Marching Owls made a "U$C" formation, a clear shot at Southern California's pay-for-play scandals.
On Friday night, they maintained that reputation, this time using rape accusations as the punchline.
Citations: A timeline of the Baylor sexual assault scandal (Sports Illustrated), Rice MOB Performs Baylor Scandal-Themed Halftime Show (DeadSpin)
