Seven women filed a federal lawsuit against LSU yesterday, arguing that the university disregarded their allegations of sexual assault, domestic violence and harassment.
The Tiger Athletic Foundation, a private fundraising organization, is also a defendant in the suit as are the school’s former president and athletic director.
The court complaint follows multiple investigative news reports from USA Today on sexual misconduct claims against LSU football players and former coach Les Miles. The women who brought forward those complaints say they were ignored. Miles is not a party in the lawsuit, although the complaint recounts prior reports of his inappropriate behavior with student workers in the football office. The University of Kansas let Miles go as its football coach shortly after the reports came out.
After the USA Today reports, LSU conducted an internal investigation that supports the plaintiffs’ claims. The university has since embarked on an overhaul of its Title IX office, but the school has been criticized for limiting its discipline for past offenses to the unpaid suspension of two athletic department administrators.
