KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Less than 24 hours after the University of Kansas placed Les Miles on administrative leave, an attorney representing the head football coach called the actions "deeply disturbing."
Peter Ginsberg, an attorney based in New York, issued a statementSaturday on Miles' behalf.
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.
KU placed Miles on administrative leave after Louisiana State University released a 262-page report on Friday.
Allegations that Miles acted inappropriately toward female students during his time as the LSU head football coach surfaced following a story published by USA Today on Thursday.
At least two female students reported uncomfortable interactions with Miles in 2013.
One of the students said Miles kissed her twice and suggested the two meet at a hotel or his condo.
Though Miles denied the allegations, he agreed stop having contact with student employees and also agreed to employment counseling.
The report released on Friday, revealed former LSU athletic director Joe Alleva recommended the university fire Miles for cause.
On two occasions, the report revealed Alleva emailed university officials calling for the firing.
In one of the emails, Alleva said Miles was "guilty of insubordination, inappropriate behavior, putting the university, athletic dept. and football program at great risk."
Friday, KU Jayhawks Athletic Director Jeff Long, issued a statement that said in part, "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."
KU previously said it had no knowledge of the investigation or allegations.
However, Ginsberg said in his statement that prior to the reports earlier 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," Ginsburg said in the statement.
