BREAKING NEWS: LSU settles sexual misconduct lawsuit involving athletes
LSU and 10 former students who filed a lawsuit against the university over allegations of mishandling sexual assault and domestic violence complaints involving football players and others have reached a settlement. US District Judge Wendy Vitter confirmed the settlement in an order issued on March 28, dismissing the case.
Details of the settlement have not been disclosed.
Among the plaintiffs in the 2021 civil case, four accused former star running back Derrius Guice of sexual misconduct. Another plaintiff, former LSU women’s tennis player Jade Lewis, claimed that LSU failed to adequately respond to reports of abuse by former Tigers receiver Drake Davis during their relationship.
The lawsuit revolved around federal Title IX laws prohibiting gender-based discrimination, harassment, or violence. The allegations, spanning about a decade, implicated former university leaders after they had left their positions.
Former LSU football coach Les Miles and ex-university President F. King Alexander faced repercussions in subsequent roles. Miles, who coached at LSU from 2005 to 2016 and won a national title, lost his job at Kansas in 2021. Alexander was dismissed from his position as president of Oregon State after serving at LSU, where allegations of Miles’ misconduct had been kept private by the university and its law firm in 2013.
LSU commissioned the Husch Blackwell law firm to investigate its handling of sexual misconduct complaints, with the firm’s findings released in 2021. The review identified systemic shortcomings in Title IX compliance and a tendency to resist rather than assist those reporting misconduct.
Several football players, including Guice, faced allegations during Ed Orgeron’s tenure as coach. Orgeron led LSU to an unbeaten record and a national championship in the 2019 season. The review criticized LSU administrators more than coaches, suggesting that coaches lacked the expertise to address sexual misconduct complaints and should refer them to Title IX compliance officials.
The most severe disciplinary action among current LSU employees was the suspension of deputy athletic director Verge Ausberry and senior associate athletic director Miriam Segar for approximately one month. They were found to have mishandled multiple sexual misconduct complaints.