LSU football coach Ed Orgeron on Thursday said an offer made to him by a former player regarding allegations that the running back of Derrius Guice raped the former player’s girlfriend in 2016 is not accurate.
On Wednesday, USA Today published a report in which two former students said they were raped by Guice when he was a freshman and that they shared their accusations with multiple people at LSU, including at least two coaches, an athletics manager and a nurse.
According to the report, the ex-boyfriend of one of the women, who was even on the football team, Orgeron brought his ex-girlfriend a year after the alleged attack happened. The former player told USA Today, “[Orgeron] said, ‘Every girlfriend sleeps with other people.’ “
In a statement, Orgeron said: “Any insinuation I had of his girlfriend and Derrius Guice is completely false.”
“The anonymous quote given to me by a former player in USA Today is not accurate,” Orgeron said. “Out of respect for the young man’s privacy, I will not disclose the full details of the interview. What I will say is that a player came into my office to translate about our program. We also face the challenges. of the player’s relationship with his girlfriend. I told him what I would tell my own sons: ‘We all experience heartbreaking. Do not pursue a promising academic and football career at LSU because of a personal obstacle.’ “
Orgeron, who started the 2016 season as the defensive line coach and was appointed interim head coach after Les Miles was sacked after four games, also said in the statement that allegations of attack against Guice “should be taken very seriously and the expected victims must be heard and supported. “
“I will always stand up for what is right and without question. I have complied – and I will continue to comply – with all the protocols and procedures of Title IX of the University,” Orgeron said.
Despite sharing their accusations with people at LSU, the women said the school did not investigate and did not interview them or potential witnesses.
“At no time were allegations of physical or sexual assault against Derrius made during his years as a student-athlete at LSU,” Guice’s attorney, Peter D. Greenspun, said in a statement to USA Today. “To bring such assertions forward only after the Virginia charges are initiated certainly raises the doubt, the nature and the timing of what will be appointed years later.”
Guice was released by the Washington Football Team on August 7 after being arrested on three separate charges of domestic violence in Virginia.
“LSU and LSU Athletics take all allegations of sexual assault with the utmost seriousness,” the school said in a statement to ESPN. “Formal complaints are investigated directly and completely and the rights and privacy of students are protected as provided by the Family Law and Privacy Act. Complaints are also strongly encouraged to report the crime to law enforcement and are provided with information on health care, guidance and support measures. available. “
Guice, 23, is scheduled to be arrained over the domestic violence charges on Aug. 28 in Loudoun County District Court.
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