Les Miles: University of Kansas separates from head coach Les Miles amid report of harassment allegations during his tenure at LSU



[ad_1]

The announcement comes days after KU athletics director Jeff Long said Miles would be put on administrative leave while the school conducted a review to determine next steps.

This followed the publication of two investigative reports into accusations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior made by Miles during his time at Louisiana State University. Miles has denied the allegations.

Miles was LSU’s head coach from 2005 to 2016, winning the national championship in the 2007 season. He was hired by the Jayhawks to lead their football team on November 18, 2018.

“I am extremely disappointed for our university, our supporters and everyone involved in our football program,” Long said in a statement on Monday. “There are a lot of young talents in this football team, and I have no doubt that we will identify the right person to lead this program. We will immediately begin the search for a new head coach with an outside company to help in this. process. We have to win football games, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do. “

A statement from Miles was also provided by the athletics department.

“It’s definitely a tough day for me and my family,” Miles said. “I love this college and the young men in our football program. I really enjoyed being the head coach of KU and know it’s in a better place now than when I arrived. To our student-athletes, I want you to remember that you came to play for KU and get a degree here. So I implore you to stay and build on what we started and do all the things that we talked about doing together. There is a bright future for all of you and for KU Football. ”

2 reports investigated Miles at LSU

Friday’s announcement of Miles’ administrative leave followed the publication of an LSU Title IX investigation by law firm Husch Blackwell. The report followed the release of the findings of a 2013 investigation into Miles by law firm Taylor Porter.

The Taylor Porter investigation, which was at the behest of LSU, found Miles “engaged in behavior that exhibited poor judgment” but did not substantiate a violation of the law.

Miles’ attorney Peter Ginsberg said in a statement on Friday that “the Taylor Porter report should end baseless and inaccurate media reports that coach Les Miles has engaged in appropriate contact with a volunteer student in the athletics department eight years ago. ”

“Coach Miles then denies, as he now denies, that any such conduct occurred,” Ginsberg said, adding, “The report also revealed that a second woman made a similar allegation. . “

The lawyer also criticized the Husch Blackwell investigation, Ginsberg said investigators had not interviewed Miles or other key witnesses. Instead, he alleged that the law firm reviewed Taylor Porter’s findings without providing any reason for doing so.

Husch Blackwell was hired by LSU following a report published in USA Today in November 2020 titled “LSU Mismanaged Complaints of Sexual Misconduct Against Students, Including High Performance Athletes.”

The Husch Blackwell report includes a statement from Sharon Lewis, who is currently the associate athletic director for football recruiting and alumni relations.

His May 2019 statement “chronicled an alleged serious misconduct by the then most powerful person in the athletics department (and possibly the university), LSU football coach Les Miles, of approximately 2009 until Miles left in 2016. “

Among the allegations made by Lewis, according to the report, were that after losing the 2012 national championship game, Miles “attempted to sexualize student staff working in the football program by demanding, for example, that he wanted ‘blondes with big breasts’ and’ pretty girls’. ‘

Miles has denied all allegations of misconduct, according to the report. CNN had requested through Kansas for Miles’ comments on the report.

According to the Husch Blackwell report, Joe Alleva, then director of athletics at LSU, said that he “recommends to the president of the university, the supervisory board of the university and the lawyers of the university, to put end to Miles for good reason ”.

“Once again, I want us to think about which scenario is worse for LSU,” Alleva said in an email dated June 21, 2013 to new LSU president F. King Alexander, which is included in the report. “Explaining why we let him go or explaining why we let him stay.”

KU said on Monday that the search for a new head coach will begin immediately and that Mike DeBord will continue to serve as interim head coach until an interim head coach is determined.

CNN’s Wayne Sterling contributed to this report.

[ad_2]

Source link