Did Baylor football players break the news of Art Briles' firing?

Published May. 26, 2016 12:29 p.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

The dismissal of Baylor head coach Art Briles on Thursday may very well have been revealed by his players.

Media reports of the decision started to break shortly after 11:30 a.m. ET:

Baylor dismisses coach Art Briles, source told @ESPN. Briles informed players via text, source said. Announcement expected at noon ET
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) May 26, 2016

But minutes before that, Baylor players took to Twitter and clearly reacted to some major news that they had received:

Tweets by various Baylor players look like something major has happened regarding the staff: pic.twitter.com/wnFVZqrNlt
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) May 26, 2016

The only other indications that a decision was on the way came just after 11:00 a.m. ET, when a Texas Tribune reporter claimed that the Pepper Hamilton report, which was expected to be released by June 3, would be coming later in the day on Thursday:

This person was told that the report will not reflect positively on Baylor. https://t.co/jkxlhYt3wg
— Matthew Watkins (@MWatkinsTrib) May 26, 2016

Briles has been under fire for his program's handling of several sexual assault allegations dating back to 2009. Defensive coordinator Phil Bennett reportedly will be named interim head coach.