Les Miles' attorney responds to sexual harassment allegations after KU places him on administrative leave following LSU report
UPDATE: Days after Miles was placed on leave, the former LSU head coach and KU mutually agreed to part ways late Monday night.
LAWRENCE, KS. - Les Miles' attorney fires back at the University of Kansas after they placed their head football coach, Les Miles, on administrative leave following a blistering report of "inappropriate behavior" with student employees during his tenure as LSU's head football coach.
This decision came hours after LSU released its long awaited Husch Blackwell report into the sexual misconduct practices at LSU.
KU's Athletic Director Jeff Long gave a full statement Friday evening about his decision to put Miles on administrative leave:
Statement from KU Director of Athletics Jeff Long
“Today, I placed head football coach Les Miles on administrative leave as we conduct a full review to determine the appropriate next steps. We are reviewing the Husch Blackwell report released today by LSU following yesterday’s release of the Taylor Porter report. The past two days have been the first time that we have had access to either report.
Even though the allegations against him occurred at LSU, we take these matters very seriously at KU. Now that we have access to this information, we will take the coming days to fully review the material and to see if any additional information is available. I do not want to speculate on a timeline for our review because it is imperative we do our due diligence. We will be able to comment further once our review is complete.”
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In a report from Husch Blackwell it highlights emails showing that former Athletic Director Joe Alleva recommended firing Les Miles related to the investigation of "inappropriate behavior" with female student employees.
New documents released Friday morning as part of an extensive review of LSU's policies regarding sexual misconduct, revealed former Athletics Director Joe Alleva actually wanted football coach Les Miles fired during the 2013 investigation into allegations that he made advances toward female student workers. Alleva said he is "guilty of insubordination, inappropriate behavior, putting the university, athletic dept and football program at great risk."
After being placed on administrative leave, Miles' attorney responded to the sexual harassment allegations saying Miles has been 'unfairly maligned'.Attorney Peter Ginsberg released a statement Saturday expressing his defense of Miles. Ginsberg said that the University of Kansas was "provided with significant information" about the 2013 investigation regarding Miles prior to his hire, according to the Advocate.
Ginsburg went on to say the decision to place Miles on administrative leave is 'unfair' saying, "To fail to recognize that a person’s career should not be compromised by unsubstantiated allegations hardly is consistent with the example an institution of higher learning should champion".
Miles' attorney released a statement Saturday afternoon calling this situation "deeply disturbing":
The events of the past twenty-four hours are deeply disturbing. Eight years ago, LSU hired Taylor Porter, a preeminent law firm, to conduct an extensive and thorough investigation of allegations lodged at Les Miles. Under the guidance of one of the nation’s leaders in the area of gender discrimination and harassment, Taylor Porter concluded that Coach Miles did not engage in any conduct that
constituted sexual harassment and that there were no grounds to discipline Coach Miles. Now, eight years later, LSU, in the wake of enormous pressure from the NCAA for conduct that has nothing to do with Coach Miles, issued a report conducted by Husch Blackwell. The report revealed no new evidence. Indeed, Husch Blackwell did not even bother to interview Coach Miles or many other key witnesses but, instead, second-guessed the Taylor Porter findings and conclusions without providing any basis for doing so. Bending to the winds of media blowback, Kansas has now decided to put Coach Miles on administrative leave. Before the release of the reports this week, Kansas had been provided with significant information supporting Taylor Porter’s conclusions. KU also had performed thorough due diligence before hiring Coach Miles. Kansas’ decision to put Les Miles on administrative leave is both disturbing and unfair. To fail to recognize that a person’s career should not be compromised by unsubstantiated allegations hardly is consistent with the example an institution of higher learning should champion.
Watch WBRZ's day-long coverage of the LSU Title IX investigaiton.