LSU suspends two high-ranking athletic officials without pay as a result of a report on how the school mishandled allegations of sexual and domestic assault. Deputy Athletic Director Verge Ausberry received a 30-day suspension, while senior associate AD Miriam Segar received 21 days.
“This is an example of serious institutional failure but people also made mistakes we can not ignore that can not and must not go unaddressed,” said LSU interim president Thomas Galligan.
Ausberry and Segar will be required to go through training on sexual misconduct, domestic violence, and more.
Husch Blackwell delivered what Galligan called a brutally honest and objective evaluation. Husch Blackwell Partner Scott Schneider says their report found that LSU’s Title Nine office was woefully understaffed and one victim described how complicated it was for a case to get investigated.
“It felt as if this system, this process was designed to put victims in the position where they felt like they were forced to eventually give up because they were warned down,” said Schneider.
The report gives 18 recommendations on improving LSU’s Title IX practices and Galligan says the school plans to act on all recommendations and that includes beefing up the Title IX Office.
“We promised to create an LSU that’s safe, fair, just, and worthy of the trust placed in us,” said Galligan.
There is criticism over the severity of the punishment handed down to Ausberry and Seger. Galligan says Ausbery and Seger acknowledge they made mistakes but there was no clear path on how to report sexual assaults.
“Institutional policies were unclear, edicts were issued by supervisors that conflicted with policy, employees were overburdened with vast institutional roles and not provided with appropriate resources,” said Galligan.
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