Kansas Places Head Football Coach Les Miles On Administrative Leave Amidst Investigation For Conduct At LSU
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Kansas has placed head football coach Les Miles on administrative leave. The decision comes after a 2013 investigation into his conduct while in the same role at LSU was released earlier this week.
Jayhawks athletic director Jeff Long released a statement on Friday night.
“Today, I placed head football coach Les Miles on administrative leave as we conduct a full review to determine the appropriate next steps,” read the statemnt. “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.”
Miles is in his third year of a five-year contract with the university and faces allegations of misconduct during his 11 years at LSU. Miles has been accused of “texting female students, taking them to his condo alone, making them feel uncomfortable and, on at least one occasion, kissing a student and suggesting they go to a hotel after telling her he could help her career,” according to a Husch Blackwell investigation into Title IX issues at LSU.
The 67-year-old is also accused by athletic department staff of having said that female student workers who worked in the school’s recruiting department needed to be attractive, fit and blonde. Those who did not meet his criteria were to be fired or given less hours on the job, per the report.
In wake of the Husch Blackwell investigation into the school’s handlings of the allegations, it was revealed that former LSU athletic director Joe Alleva sent an email to then-incoming university president F. King Alexander, wanting to fire Miles with cause in 2013.
“I specifically told him not to text, call or be alone with any student workers and he obviously didn’t listen. I know there are many possible outcomes and much risk either way, but I believe it is in the best interest in the long run to make a break,” Alleva wrote. “The court of public opinion would favor us. The court room? On July 2nd, we will know more but the facts will remain the same.”
The length of Miles’ absence is currently indefinite while Long and Kansas look further into the report. An interim coach has not been formally named at Kansas but offensive coordinator Mike DeBord is expected to handle responsibilities.
Sports
via https://DMT.NEWS
Grayson Weir, DMT.NEWS
