LSU athletic official claims she was harassed after reporting ex-coach Les Miles

A Louisiana State University (LSU) employee who reported football coach Les Miles for sexual harassment claims school officials attempted to silence her in an effort to cover up the allegations.

Sharon Lewis, LSU’s associate athletic director of football recruiting, is expected to file a flurry of state and federal lawsuits this week relating to the school’s alleged efforts, USA Today reported.

Lewis claims she was ignored by officials when she came forward with her allegations, that she faced discrimination based on sex and race, and that she was underpaid, according to USA Today.

LSU’s executive deputy athletic director, Verge Ausberry, and LSU’s senior associate athletic director, Miriam Segar, are reportedly targets of Lewis’s lawsuits.

Lewis claims Ausberry verbally abused her and that Segar made false statements to an LSU Title IX investigator in an attempt to get her in trouble after she spoke up about Miles’s alleged misconduct.

Both employees were disciplined last month for their roles in the handling of sexual harassment allegations involving Miles, USA Today reported.

“They get to lie, and they get to admit that they lied, and come back to work,” Lewis, the first Black female football recruiting director in the Southeastern Conference, told the newspaper.

“I mean, it’s about – we have to set a standard there, that’s all,” she added.

Lewis alleges the school never investigated her complaints.

USA Today reported that law firm Husch Blackwell, which published a report on its investigative findings last month, corroborates Lewis’s claims.

LSU did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment. The school declined to comment to USA Today.

Lewis’s expected lawsuits come weeks after Miles left the University of Kansas, where he was serving as head football coach, following publicized allegations from his time at LSU.

In a press release, the University of Kansas announced that it had “mutually agreed to part ways effective immediately” with Miles.

Miles addressed his exit, calling it “certainly a difficult day for me and for my family.”