Miles, identified in the report as XXX, denied to investigators both that he kissed the student and that he engaged in inappropriate conduct. The national championship-winning coach, now 67 and in charge of Kansas’s football program, claimed at the time that he saw mentoring students — not just student-athletes — as part of his role at the university.
After LSU administrators discussed the report with two members of the law firm that conducted the investigation, those attorneys and then-athletic director Joe Alleva sent Miles a letter in which he was barred from personal correspondence with student employees and from hiring them to perform personal work such as babysitting and running errands. Miles, who was married then and remains so, was also told to sign documents to show he understood existing and updated protocols.
The investigation raised other potential issues regarding Miles’s conduct, including:
- A claim by Student No. 2 that Miles told her that she should enter her number into his personal phone under an alias, and that he would do the same with her phone.
- A claim by Student No. 2 that, while in the car, Miles said he was attracted to her and suggested they go to a hotel or to his condo.
- That Miles, per “numerous” athletic department employees, became more “hands on” after leading LSU to an appearance in the national championship game, and participated in 2012 in recruiting and interviewing female candidates for student employee positions. Miles allegedly made it clear that he wanted them to have a certain “look,” described in the report as “attractive, blonde, fit.”
- That Miles made supervisors feel that existing female student employees who did not meet his criteria should have their hours reduced or be fired.
- A claim by a female student employee identified as Student No. 1 that a phone call and other interactions with Miles made her uncomfortable. She was babysitting Miles’s children at the time, despite directions to student employees not to engage in such activity. Student No. 1 said that on one occasion when she went to babysit for Miles, he was with the children and suggested they all go see a movie. On another occasion, a window was broken while she was babysitting and he made her feel uncomfortable when he asked her to come with him to check on its repair.
- That Student No. 2 said Student No. 1 told her she had been “cornered” and touched by Miles. Student No. 1 denied to investigators that she made those accusations, and she was described in the report as not appearing to be a “reliable source of information.”
- That Miles texted at least one more female student employee from his personal cellphone, and that comments from other department employees suggested that he had done this with others.
Miles was not subjected to greater disciplinary action, and none known at the time by the public. The report stated that attorneys “do not believe under existing law and the terms of the contract there is cause to discipline and/or terminate the contract.”
An attorney for Miles, Peter Ginsberg, cited that statement in saying Thursday the release of the report “should put an end to the baseless, inaccurate media reports that [Miles] engaged in inappropriate touching [in 2013].” Ginsberg pointed to a lack of evidence related to the allegation of kissing and to the depiction of Student No. 1 as unreliable, stating, “Not coincidentally, the two accusers were friends.”
“Coach Miles learned an unfortunate lesson eight years ago: his naturally open and trusting nature exposes him to false claims by people with a different agenda than his,” the attorney wrote. “Coach Miles has always been supportive and friendly with his entire staff — both men and women. For this, he has been punished this week by unfair speculation and media attacks.”
The report was released following a lawsuit by USA Today and, according to the newspaper, subsequent resistance from the school and Miles. Louisiana’s Advocate reported last week that sources said Miles reached a settlement with a student who accused him of harassment several years ago. Miles denied that to the Advocate.
The 2013 report released Thursday stated that while it was unclear what happened in the car with the student employee, there could be “little doubt that the conduct, if true, is inappropriate and unacceptable.”
“Even accepting [Miles’s] version of events,” the report continued, “it appears that he has shown poor judgment in placing himself (and the student employee) in a situation in which the student employee might be uncomfortable and/or he can be subject to such complaint.”
According to the dates cited in the report, Student No. 2 first complained to her supervisors about Miles’s behavior before the car ride. That initial complaint prompted LSU to hire the law firm for an investigation.
Before Student No. 2 came forward, Student No. 1 made LSU aware of her concerns, which led to Alleva telling Miles not to have any more one-on-one interactions with student employees. The report stated that Alleva also told Miles not to text or call the students, but Miles denied he was told that.
The report recommended that among the “remedial steps” to be taken was a written directive on certain behaviors prohibited to Miles and on others required of him. His lawyers were “very reluctant” to agree to such a directive, per the report, but investigators felt it was warranted because “past attempts to sensitize [Miles] to the consequences of his behavior have been unsuccessful.”
Miles coached at LSU from 2005 until being fired four games into the 2016 season. He led the Tigers to an overall record of 114-34 and a national championship in the 2007 season, plus another trip the title game in the 2011 season. Before arriving in Baton Rouge, he spent four seasons as the head coach at Oklahoma State, and was hired by Kansas late in 2018. Miles went 3-9 with the Jayhawks in his first season and 0-9 in 2020.
