Brenda Tracy to meet with Baylor football players

— -- Brenda Tracy, the survivor of an alleged 1998 gang-rape involving two Oregon State football players, has accepted an invitation to speak to the Baylor football program about her experiences. 

In late May, Baylor released the findings of a Pepper Hamilton report that stated the school "failed to take appropriate action to respond to reports of sexual assault and dating violence reportedly committed by football players." A few days later, Tracy told CBSSports.com that Baylor should "get rid of everybody and shut down the football program for one year."

She told ESPN and other media on Thursday that acting football coach Jim Grobe has invited her to Waco, Texas, to talk to his players on July 25.

"He definitely seems like he has his heart in the right place and wants to help," Tracy said. "It doesn't seem like it's a stunt. Regardless if people believe it's a PR stunt or not, I'm there and I'm in front of these kids, planting a seed."

Baylor has been at the center of nationwide attention over its handling of sexual assault allegations and investigations, including several that have involved athletes. In the past two months, Baylor has dealt with the fallout from that negative attention: the demotion and then resignation of former university president and chancellor Kenneth Starr; the firing of football coach Art Briles; the suspension and then resignation of athletic director Ian McCaw; and the firings of multiple athletic department employees.

Tracy alleges she was gang-raped in 1998 by four men, including two Oregon State football players. The case didn't go to trial. "I dropped the criminal charges and left it up to Oregon State University to discipline my attackers," Tracy wrote in a June 1 open letter to the Baylor Board of Regents.

Mike Riley was the Oregon State coach in 1998. He suspended the two players one game apiece for making a "bad choice." At the time, Riley said he only knew that the players had been arrested and released after criminal charges were dropped. He admitted to Tracy he didn't read the police report and didn't know many details about the incident.

Riley is now the head coach at Nebraska. Last month, Tracy met privately with Riley and athletic director Shawn Eichorst, and then spoke with members of the Cornhuskers football team about her ordeal 18 years ago.

Tracy said Grobe reached out to Riley and asked if having her speak to Baylor's players would be beneficial.

"Coach Riley told him he felt like one of the most impactful things he could do for his team was to have me speak to his players," Tracy said. "I think my hope is the same as it was at Nebraska. I really want to put a face to this crime and put a face to sexual assault.

"I hope every one of the players who hears me speak will realize that it's not only devastating for the victim, but also devastating for the family and everyone around them. It has a lasting effect."

Tracy's son, Darius Adams, who played basketball last year at Tacoma Community College in Washington, last month published a letter to the NCAA on Change.org titled, "Dear NCAA: My Mom Is a Rape Survivor and You Can Help." Tracy and her son have asked the NCAA to ban athletes who commit acts of violence, especially sexual assault.

The petition had more than 144,000 signatures as of Wednesday.

Last week, Tracy spoke with NCAA president Mark Emmert about her experience. She's scheduled to meet with key members of the NCAA staff in Chicago on July 21 to talk about sexual assault and violence against women. She also lobbied the Oregon state legislature to lengthen the statute of limitations on sexual assault, and, with the help of Oregon State president Ed Ray, successfully lobbied the Pac-12 to restrict players with serious misconduct issues from transferring to another school in the conference.

"Sexual violence is a men's issue," Tracy said. "If women could stop it, we already would have. Hopefully, men will start to step up and put an end to this senseless violence."