Kansas football coach Les Miles, during his tenure at LSU, was accused of kissing a female student and texting her and another from his personal phone, leading the school to bar him from being alone with women who were student employees, according to a 2013 LSU investigation that the school released Thursday.
The investigation, conducted by an outside law firm on LSU’s behalf, found the coach’s behavior inappropriate, though it did not find that Miles had sexual relationships with the women. Miles, in part, was issued a letter of reprimand and had to sign papers to say he understood sexual harassment policies, according to the report, which was first acquired by USA Today.
If Miles continued his behavior, the school said, he would violate his contract and be fired. Miles coached at LSU from 2005 until he was fired for the team’s performance after a 2-2 start in 2016.
LSU had refused to release the report before USA Today sued for access. Miles’ lawyers also worked to keep the report sealed until Wednesday, when they released a statement saying they changed their stance.
Miles’ attorney, Peter Ginsberg, told USA Today that the coach continues to deny the allegations and issued a statement that said, in part, “As the report concludes, the allegation that Coach Miles attempted to kiss the woman was supported by no evidence.”
Miles denied to investigators that he had kissed her, according to USA Today, and investigators said they could not determine what happened in the car. Still, the investigators believed if nothing else that Miles had “shown poor judgment.”
According to the 2013 report, one student worker accused Miles of kissing her twice while they were in his car, while saying Miles also suggested they go together to a hotel or his condo. He also said he was attracted to her, according to the report.
That student worker claimed Miles sent her Facebook messages and exchanged texts with her while making plans to meet her. She said, according to the investigation, that Miles picked her up in his car alone and kissed her twice in his parked car. The woman, who said she eventually resigned from her part-time job with LSU because of her uncomfortable interactions with Miles, also claimed she was subjected to “an unwanted touching.”
The report also said Miles was involved with hiring student employees at LSU, while saying they should have a certain “’look’ (attractive, blond and fit).” The report also stated Miles had suggested to supervisors that employees that didn’t fit that requirement should have reduced hours or be fired.
A separate student worker said she had a phone conversation and other interactions with Miles that made her feel uncomfortable, according to the investigation.
LSU is slated to release another investigative report, looking into its handling of sexual misconduct claims, on Friday morning.
KU Athletics released a statement Thursday afternoon regarding the just-released LSU investigation: “Due to the ongoing litigation, KU was not provided a copy of the Taylor Porter report prior to its publication in the USA Today article. We are in the process of reviewing the 34-page document. We are also aware that LSU is issuing an additional report tomorrow, and we will wait to comment further until we have reviewed both documents.”
Miles — hired as KU’s football coach in November 2018 — is 3-18 in two seasons with the Jayhawks. KU finished 0-9 in 2020.
