Did Brian Kelly know about LSU RB coach Frank Wilson's harassment complaints before hiring him?

BATON ROUGE — LSU football coach Brian Kelly claims he wasn't notified of any potential wrongdoing committed by running backs coach Frank Wilson before he was hired by the university in December of 2021, according to court documents obtained by The Advertiser.

Wilson was accused of sexually harassing former LSU athletics administrator Sharon Lewis during his first stint as LSU running backs coach from 2010-2016. Lewis has alleged that Wilson at one point in 2013 "closed the door and pulled out (his genitals) and asked her to touch it." She has also alleged that Wilson "kissed a female employee without her permission."

The documents stem from a deposition Kelly conducted this May in connection with Lewis' $50 million lawsuit against the university, which includes her allegations against Wilson.

LSU did not initially respond to a request for comment.

LSU football coach Brian Kelly's deposition

Kelly's deposition details that he interviewed Wilson twice about LSU's open running backs coach position, once in Lake Charles in person and a second time over the phone. But he explained that he couldn't hire Wilson until his background check was completed.

According to the deposition, Kelly said Wilson's background check was handled by Stephanie Rempe, the current athletics director at Nevada, who at the time was LSU's executive deputy athletics director and chief operating officer.

"(She) really worked with me during this transition with personnel and hiring. And she did all of that work for me," Kelly said in the deposition. "... She handled the personnel dismissals, severance packages and, again, working directly with (human resources), when it came to background checks."

Kelly further explained in the deposition that he usually just gets a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on background checks for hiring candidates. "It was simply ... cleared or not cleared," Kelly said, adding that the only potential exception being that sometimes when a candidate would clear the background check, the candidate would have a potential issue about which Kelly would need to be notified.

"It might be a financial issue or something to that effect," Kelly said in the deposition.

Why Brian Kelly hired Frank Wilson as LSU RB coach

But during Wilson's hiring process, Kelly said no potential issues were brought up to him about Wilson after the assistant coach passed his background check.

"(When) I traveled around the state in my very first time ever being in Louisiana. That was where I met with, 'Are you going to hire Frank? He would be a great hire,'" Kelly said in his deposition. "So that was my first exposure to Frank Wilson. I didn't know him, and that was across the board. That was unanimous. So my first interaction with the name and then the person was all very positive. And then, obviously, (human resources) cleared him.

"I had no reason for me to carry any hesitation about Frank Wilson."

BRIAN KELLY ON WITNESS LIST: Brian Kelly, Les Miles among witnesses listed in Sharon Lewis lawsuit against LSU

LSU SANCTIONED FOR LOSING EVIDENCE: LSU sanctioned for losing cell-phone evidence in sexual assault lawsuit

SHARON LEWIS UPDATE: Where former athletics executive Sharon Lewis' lawsuit against LSU stands heading into third year

Sharon Lewis' allegations and Kelly's response

Lewis' lawsuit, filed in April of 2021, accuses LSU, former football coach Les Miles and multiple LSU administrators of a hostile work environment and gender discrimination. The lawsuit alleges that her pay suffered as a result of reporting Title IX violations.

Then, in an amended complaint filed in March of 2022, Lewis further alleged that Wilson sexually harassed Lewis and other female employees and workers from 2012-16.

The amended complaint alleges she reported these incidents to LSU's senior associate athletics director and the department’s senior women's administrator Miriam Segar and Verge Ausberry, the school's executive deputy athletics director and executive director of external relations, and that they did not take any action with her claims.

Kelly was asked about the allegations in March of 2022 and called them "egregious" and "unfounded."

"We consider those (allegations) as being egregious and simply allegations that were unfounded," Kelly said. "It does not affect Frank Wilson and the person that we know, and we stand behind him firmly as a member of our staff."

Lewis was assistant AD of football recruiting and alumni relations before her contract was terminated in 2022. She had worked in LSU's athletics department since 2002.

Kelly, Miles, Rempe, athletics director Scott Woodward and LSU president William F. Tate IV are among the people listed as potential witnesses in Lewis' lawsuit against the university, according to separate documents obtained by The Advertiser.

Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Did Brian Kelly know about Frank Wilson sexual harassment complaints?