An investigation commissioned by LSU said Les Miles, the school’s head football coach from 2005-16, took part in inappropriate behavior with female students, but didn’t find he had a sexual relationship with any of them.
Miles was accused of texting female students, making them feel uncomfortable, being alone with them in his condo, and once kissing a student in his car along with suggesting she accompany him to a hotel after saying he could help her career, according to the investigation report, obtained by USA Today. It was released by the school on Thursday after being commissioned in 2013 and carried out by the Baton Rouge, La., law firm of Taylor Porter.
The 67-year-old Miles, now the head coach at Kansas, has strongly denied kissing the girl, but did admit to driving alone with her, according to the report. He has said he was only mentoring the school’s young women. Miles coached the Tigers until he was fired after a 2-2 start to the 2016 season.
The report states that the LSU athletic department staff also accused him of saying the football team’s female student workers should help them lure recruits and that they should be blonde, pretty and in shape. Those that were not, he wanted gone or their hours cut.
Miles’ attorney, Peter Ginsberg, in a statement released Thursday, said he hopes the report puts an end to claims the coach was “engaged in an inappropriate touching of an Athletic Department student volunteer eight years ago.”
“As the report concludes, the allegation that Coach Miles attempted to kiss the woman was supported by no evidence and warranted no discipline: ‘We do not believe under existing law and the terms of the contract there is cause to discipline and/or terminate’ Coach Miles,” Ginsberg said in the statement.
The report didn’t unequivocally clear Miles, but stated it was “unable to determine what occurred” between the coach and the student in his car. At the time, Miles was reprimanded by the university and required to sign forms saying he understood the school’s policy. He was also “ordered” to stop hiring student employees as baby sitters, not to be alone with them and attend eight one-hour sessions with an attorney that he has to pay for with his own money. Miles was told he would lose his job if he repeated any of the behavior.
