A new investigation details how administrators at Louisiana State University (LSU) ignored several allegations of sexual assault against prominent student athletes.
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Several allegations were made against football players, including running back Derrius Guice, who was accused of rape by at least two LSU students.
The USA Today report alleges that despite accusers reporting the alleged assaults to administrators and athletic staff, officials often ignored such reports and sometimes denied accusers’ requests for protection.
According to the investigation, athletes subject to allegations received deferred suspensions, allowing them to stay on campus.
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“Officials in the university’s athletic department and broader administration repeatedly have ignored complaints against abusers, denied victims’ requests for protections and subjected them to further harm by known perpetrators,” the report said.
In the case of Guice, the paper reported that, “each step of the way, LSU officials either doubted the women’s stories, didn’t investigate, or didn’t call the police, allowing [him] to continue his football career”.
At least three football players were given deferred punishments, including suspension or probation, after being found liable for sexual assault, the outlet said.
The report also detailed efforts by administrators and athletic staff to conceal an allegation against wide receiver Drake Davis. In one alleged violent incident, an LSU tennis player was allegedly punched in the stomach by the football player, the paper said, but her coach, Mike Sell, did not report the incident to the school or the Title IX coordinator
According to the report, LSU “sat on the information for months, while Davis continued to assault and strangle” the tennis player.
In 2018, Davis was suspended indefinitely after being arrested on second-degree battery charges. USA Today did not confirm if the victim in that incident was the tennis player, but the arrest warrant noted allegations that Davis had committed battery on a woman he had been dating.
By October 2019, Davis had enrolled at Southern University, also in Louisiana.
In a statement, LSU confirmed it was “aware of the USA Today article and [was] reviewing the allegations”.
“Putting an end to sexual assault is an institutional priority,” it said, “and we are constantly working to achieve that goal.”
“We are unwavering in our commitment to respond promptly to any reports of misconduct, to investigate these reports in a manner that is fair and equitable, to support victims of sexual assault, and to protect the privacy of our students according to the law,” the statement said.
Including Guice and Davis, at least nine football players have been reported to police for sexual misconduct and dating violence since Ed Orgeron was promoted to interim head coach in 2016, according to USA Today. He was still promoted to full-time head coach, winning the collegiate national championship last season.
“When we become aware of accusations, we have an obligation to immediately report every allegation to the University’s Title IX office so that appropriate due process can be implemented,” Orgeron said in a statement.
Despite the damning allegations, some athletes and students defended the university’s swift action against reports of sexual assault in recent years, including a case involving quarterback Peter Parrish. Current LSU punter Zach Von Rosenberg took to Twitter to defend his coach.
Earlier this year, Parrish was suspended indefinitely by the team and university after he was accused of raping a woman outside a bar. By August, he had announced that he’d transferred to Memphis.
LSU only acknowledged formally disciplining Davis and Parrish after they were accused of sexual misconduct and dating violence.
According to LSU attorney Johanna Posada, four athletes were not disciplined, including safety Grant Delpit, who was accused of recording a sexual encounter with a woman without her knowledge or consent. Delpit later shared the video with peers.
Also, former players – running back Tae Provens, linebacker Jacob Phillips and tight end Zach Sheffer – were accused of rape as well.
USA Today had previously reported allegations against Guice when – two years after being drafted by the team in the second round of the National Football League draft – he was cut by the now-Washington football team. Guise had been arrested on 7 August and charged for three separate domestic violence incidents in Virginia.
Samantha Brennan, a former student, had accused Guice of photographing her without her consent but alleges she was told she would have to wait to access her police report for six years until the statute of limitations ended.
“LSU didn’t do the right thing back in 2016, but I was hoping they would do the right thing now,” she said. “Unfortunately that was not the case, and the harder they fought to keep me from my police report, the harder I fought to obtain it”.
USA Today reported Brennan is one of at least two women from which the university is allegedly withholding police and Title IX records. .
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