LSU head coach Ed Orgeron has been added as a defendant to a Title IX lawsuit that alleges he failed to report a rape allegation against one of his former players Derrius Guice, according to The Athletic’s Brody Miller.
The lawsuit, filed against LSU over the school’s alleged mishandling of sexual misconduct accusations, claims Orgeron was told by a former LSU football player that Guice had raped his girlfriend Ashlyn Robertson in 2016 and did not report it:
That same story came up in a report from USA Today in Aug. 2020. The unnamed football player claimed that Orgeron, then LSU’s defensive line coach, told him he shouldn’t be bothered about the alleged assault, reportedly saying” Everybody’s girlfriend sleeps with other people.”
The former player told USA Today he believed the coach knew the encounter was not consensual.
Orgeron, however, told the story differently in a statement released the day after the report. He claimed the player in question approached him about potentially transferring from LSU, at which point the player’s relationship challenges with his girlfriend came up.
Orgeron said he told the player, “We all experience heartbreak growing up. Do not throw away a promising academic and football career at LSU because of a personal obstacle.”
The full statement:
The rape accusation is one of many misconduct allegations to emerge against Guice and LSU in recent years.
Orgeron has already testified to the Louisiana state senate that he did not speak to an elderly female security worker who claimed Guice harassed her during an event in 2017. Instead, Orgeron said he recalled a phone conversation with a man on her behalf and that he was told LSU’s staff was handling the matter.
More from Yahoo Sports: