Les Miles, LSU Board members may be forced to testify in Sharon Lewis case, judge rules
BATON ROUGE – LSU football coach Les Miles, multiple members of the LSU Board of Supervisors and Taylor Porter lawyers Robert Barton and Vicki Crochet must provide depositions if called upon in the lawsuit of former LSU athletics administrator Sharon Lewis against the university, a U.S. District Judge ordered Wednesday.
Judge Susie Morgan also ruled that the university must provide any documents or related evidence regarding the LSU board's investigation into sexual harassment claims made in 2022 regarding associate head coach and running backs coach Frank Wilson.
Last year, Lewis and two other former LSU employees accused Wilson of sexual harassment during his time as the Tigers' running backs coach and recruiting coordinator from 2010-15.
Lewis' lawsuit, which was filed in 2021, accuses Miles, the LSU board of supervisors and athletics committees and several athletics administrators of gender discrimination, fostering a hostile work environment and that her pay suffered as a result of reporting Title IX violations.
The LSU board is the final remaining defendant in the case. Miles, the LSU athletics committee and every former and current LSU athletics administrator have been dismissed as defendants. Those dismissals, however, do not recuse them from testifying.
KELLY ON SEXUAL HARRASSMENT CLAIMS: Brian Kelly calls sexual harassment allegations against LSU assistant Frank Wilson 'egregious'
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT SHARON LEWIS CASE: Where former athletics executive Sharon Lewis' lawsuit against LSU stands heading into third year
SHARON LEWIS FIRED AT LSU: LSU fires athletics executive who filed a $50 million lawsuit against school last April
The Advertiser obtained documents in January revealing that a former LSU football employee had accused Miles of sexual grooming and harassment in 2013. In the documents, that former employee also requested $2.15 million from Miles and the university.
The documents accuse Miles of forcibly kissing the former employee and touching her bare skin underneath her skirt, among other allegations. The documents have already been submitted in federal and state court proceedings in relation to Lewis' case against the university.
Judge Morgan's ruling also states that the university must provide previously concealed documents and related evidence regarding the board's alleged effort to hide sexual harassment allegations made against Miles.
Lewis was the Assistant Athletic Director of Football Recruiting and Alumni Relations before the university terminated her contract in January 2022. She began her tenure at LSU as a football recruiting coordinator in 2002.
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: Former LSU football coach Les Miles may need to testify in Lewis case
