Kansas places football coach Les Miles on leave after findings of LSU text scandal revealed
Details of an investigation into allegations of the championship coach's inappropriate interactions with and alleged inappropriate behavior with female students surfaced this week
Les Miles, coach of the University of Kansas football team, has been placed on administrative leave after findings were released from an investigation into his communications with female students nearly a decade ago during his coaching stint at Louisiana State University.
Kansas athletic director Jeff Long confirmed the news Friday, saying in a statement that the university would review the report from an internal investigation that the Louisiana college released Thursday.
ESPN reports that Miles, 67, had been subject to an investigation after he was accused of sending the messages to female students at LSU in 2013. According to USA Today, Miles was being accused of sending inappropriate text messages asking the students to meet with him alone at his home.
The investigation, carried out by the Taylor Porter law firm at the behest of LSU, also stated that on one occasion Miles kissed one of the female students, said that he could help her career and suggested that the two get a hotel together. In addition, the report states that Miles allegedly requested that the athletic department only hire attractive blonde female students to help lure top football recruits to the school.
Although the investigation took place in 2013, the findings were not made public until recently, prompting Kansas to place Miles on leave. Miles coached the LSU Tigers from 2005 to 2016. During that tenure, he led the team to an impressive 114-34 record, with a 7-4 record in Bowl Games and two berths in the National Championship game, winning the title in 2007.
Miles coached 109 NFL Draft picks while at LSU, according to his bio on Kansas’ official website. This includes Pro Bowlers Odell Beckham Jr, Tyrann Mathieu and Jarvis Landry.
READ MORE: 3 officers on leave after LSU football player says he was ‘violated’ during search
Miles was fired from LSU only four games into the 2016 season, according to SB Nation. Despite continuing to coach three more seasons after the initial investigation, the report shows that LSU’s former athletic director, Joe Alleva, recommended Miles be removed as coach in 2013 due to allegations.
ESPN college football reporter Heather Dinich told Jeremy Schapp on a Friday episode of Outside The Lines that, while no one at LSU would disclose why the report wasn’t made public for eight years, it is likely partially due to the fact that the investigation “ultimately concluded that while Miles was accused of inappropriate behavior, he did not have sexual relationships with any of the women. Therefore that report determined that there was no need to fire him at that time.”
Miles has denied the allegations against him, according to his lawyer, Peter Ginsberg, who has called the accusations “baseless.”
In a statement from Ginsberg, the report said a second woman made similar accusations against Miles, but was apparently was “totally unreliable.”
READ MORE: LSU football coach on COVID-19: ‘Most of our players have caught it’
Ginsberg wrote that Miles’ welcoming personality made him susceptible to being targeted.
“Coach Miles learned an unfortunate lesson eight years ago: his naturally open and trusting nature exposes him to false claims by people with a different agenda than him,” he said.
Miles was hired as head football coach at Kansas in 2019. His record with the team during his first two seasons is 3-18.
Kansas is Miles’ third head coaching job. Prior to LSU, he coached at Oklahoma State, where he was named 2002 Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year.
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!
You Might Like
