In March 2019, as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, Davis pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor charges: two counts of battery on a dating partner and one count of violation of a protective order. 'She was never in my court:' Playing Favorites and Doubting Injuries, featuring Keri Frankenberger. Will there ever be another 100-point scorer in college hockey? The point isnt that I have to see him again;the point is that he did this and nothing happened.. LSU repeatedly mishandled sexual assault reports against athletes. You can also contact the reporters directly,narmour@usatoday.comfor Nancy Armour orkjacoby@gatehousemedia.comfor Kenny Jacoby. Three of those players were on the 2012-2013 team. The former player was in rehab during her senior day match when the team read tributes to each senior. I have no idea, she said. In that Facebook video about her scholarship, Johnson, surrounded by her teammates on LSUs tennis courts, opens an envelope. The opener went to the Tigers, 2-1, with UA earning a 6-5 win in game two. And any meetings that we have, I will be in the room with her. It was her way of protecting me. Yet even after finding him responsible twice, LSU refused to switch him out of the classes that he and Andries were set to share during the upcoming, fall 2019 semester, emails show. She said Sell frequently dangled it over her head, threatening to take it away if she didnt meet expectations. follow. Lewis said LSU women's tennis co-head coach . Gourrier Lane, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 And then it progressed to: Lets go to dinner to discuss recruiting. I said, Frank, wheres your wife? In the second call, according to USA Today, Lewis' father said he specifically told Mike Sell that Davis had punched her. We are committed to a culture of safety, equity and accountability for all students and staff. Her friend, Luke Dudley, a student equipment manager on the football team, introduced them. Early in the spring 2016 semester, a member of the LSU diving team told her coach and an athletic department administrator that Guice raped her friend after shed passed out drunk at a party. Johnson and the senior both told The Reveille that Sell fabricated that story. The player came into college with what she described as disordered eating habits and body image issues. What did he do?, Lewis, the womans supervisor, told her not to work directly with Frank at all, the woman recalled. 1 LSU. You have permission to edit this article. Seven women filed a federal class-action lawsuit against Louisiana State University, its leadership, athletic fundraising arm and several top administrators on Monday, alleging they conspired to. According to a redacted LSU Police Department arrest report obtained by ESPN, a woman reported four incidents of physical abuse by Davis between May 2017 and June 2018. The woman told police that Davis punched her hard enough to fracture one of her ribs in one instance, began to strangle her in another and later texted that he might kill her. When is too early to draft a starting pitcher? Brennan declined to press charges against Guice, saying she didnt want to ruin his life. Women's Tennis Roster 2021-22 - LSU Mobile Menu Button Instead, LSU gave her a template for a letter that she could send him directly, instructing him not to contact her. College baseball roundtable: Takeaways, most impressive teams, players and what to expect going forward, College baseball rankings: 2023 Top 25 poll, New Big Ten boss Petitti ready to lead 'new era', Nebraska volleyball eyes U.S. attendance record, 2023 NCAA gymnastics championships: Oklahoma repeats and Trinity Thomas ties record. At least seven LSU officials had direct knowledge that wide receiver Drake Davis was physically abusing his girlfriend, a different LSU womens tennis player, but they sat on the information for months, while Davis continued to assault and strangle her. She's not going to be the bubbly, friendly person. LSU says it has completed 17 of the recommendations. In the first incident, the woman went to Davis' house to retrieve personal items and he allegedly punched her in the stomach. Keri Frankenberger was a senior on that team. Before thehearing panel, Sanders asked the women if they had additional evidence to present. I would never want you to play for Julia Sell.. Her experience under Sell is consistent with accounts of two of her teammates, as well as those of four players who succeeded her. The same day, Segar accompanied Brennan to the campus police department to file a report, which Brennan did. Interviews with the woman, her father and several teammates, as well as a detailed LSU Police Department arrest report released after the case closed, demonstrate how LSU officials who were told of the abuse including by the woman and Davis directly repeatedly failed to act on the information, each time leaving her vulnerable to Davis increasingly violent attacks. I think that was partially due to her.. The woman said the same when Sanders interviewed her two weeks later, though she acknowledged that Davis had punched her previously, records show. Obviously football has the power. Some of the women in this story are not being named because it is USA TODAYs policy not to identify individuals who allege sexual crimes and domestic violence without their permission. Here's a complete updated list, Lightning strikes twice: LSU mounts second comeback in 24 hours, clinches back-to-back sweeps, How two cousins uncovered their grandpas lost poetry through LSUs Hill Memorial Library, Reggies Bar in Tigerland closes after Madison Brooks deathand a long history of controversy, Reggie's Bar in Tigerland will close under current owners, fined $15,000 after Madison Brooks' death, LSU 2023 Draft Tracker: Where LSU players landed in the 2023 NFL Draft, Former LSU defensive back Jarrick Bernard-Converse selected by the Jets in NFL Draft. Orgeron indefinitely suspended Davis from football. Brennan drank way too much, she told USA TODAY. Not a word from her., Several alleged Title IX violations by the University surfaced after a NovemberUSA Today report detailed multiple LSU alumna's stories of sex, After nine seasons of being involved with the program, the Sell era of LSU womens tennis is over, as the pair elected to pursue opportunities, A law firm is inviting LSU students to share experiences with the University's handling of sexual misconduct cases, Interim President Tom Gall. Really? she responded. They drank heavily, to the point that she was vomiting, she said. The defendants in the case are asking for the suits both state and federal to be dismissed, with a state motion hearing May 26. By JIMMY WATSON Shreveport Times Parkway guard Mikaylah Williams, already showered with accolades from numerous organizations, moved into more rarified air Saturday when she was named the Louisiana Farm Bureau Insurance/Miss Basketball winner for 2023 by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for the second straight year. Then, Sell gave her a 15-pound weight and asked the player to do squats again. She said after that, the family never spoke to Sell again. A Baton Rouge federal judge has dismissed a racial discrimination lawsuit that former longtime LSU women's tennis coach Tony Minnis filed against the university after his 2012 firing. April 26, 2023 6:18 pm ET. Cementing her place as the No. As it turned out, another female student had already reported the same man for sexually assaulting her in almost the exact same way, the same night, on the same bus trip. ESPN reported in August 2018 that the woman reported to LSU police four violent incidents involving Davis during the previous 18 months. In a separate statement, Orgeron said his football program takes any allegation very seriously and that he has followed Title IX reporting protocols. He did not, nor did he return a subsequent voicemail. I think that it made her doubt herself. French Open. Ultimately Davis pleaded guilty to two assaults; prosecutors dropped other charges against him in exchange. According to the woman, the coaching staff banned Davis from the weight room that summer but reinstated him once practices for the 2018 season began. Brennans report might have stayed buried had she not read USA TODAYs August investigation about the rape allegations against Guice and contacted the reporters, alerting them that she, too, had had an incident with him. No NFL team has picked him up. She needs to be in control., I have heard that from the other girls, Lewis said. / Miles attorney did not return a request for comment, but has in the past denied the claims. Delays, missteps and inaction have also plagued cases involving ordinary students, according to interviews with five women whove gone through the process, as well as corroborating documents they provided USA TODAY. He did not return phone and social media messages from a reporter. It didnt. The employees called to testify are potential witnesses in the suit. At the end of the night, Dudley dropped her off at her apartment, which was in the same complex where Guice lived. The players relationship grew cold for a while, until later, when they discovered that Sell had lied. / The first time LSU staff followed the law and school policies in reporting Davis was the following year, in April 2018, when he punched the woman again, this time in the ribs. "That suggestion is false, as such allegations were never disclosed to us. LSU also refused to provide records to the tennis player who said Guice raped her. The player said she worked very hard that season to do well and was proud of herself for what she had accomplished, but after Sells comment, she felt like she could never win with her coach. Ohio State men's tennis has dominated the Big Ten's regular season, but conference tournament success was elusive. The womans roommate, a volleyball player, said that Davis had, in fact, strangled the woman that night. Just a bad, bad person, one former player said. All victims must be heard and supported, and we pledge to stand with them to help end all forms of sexual and domestic abuse.". For telling the truth? She said her coach was aware of this as early as her freshman season, when Sell called the player's parents to tell them their daughter had an eating disorder. To her surprise, it was her scholarship offer. Sell sent her a transcript of the event and told her they still announced her part of the transcript, even though she wasnt there. Several former white female LSU athletes testified at the hearing about a culture of sexual abuse on campus including a tennis player who said she had been raped and beaten several times by her boyfriend, a football player, after she had him arrested and suffered broken ribs among other injuries. LSU continues to withhold police and Title IX records from at least two women who've requested copies of their own files. But Frank retaliated against me, tried to get me fired. BATON ROUGE, La. I just want for them to be held accountable for their actions.. But when her dad told Sell that his daughter had been raped, he received an entirely different side of the coach. LSU denied the frat members final appeal that October. And this is how Im treated for doing the right thing?, Wilson and his family have deferred to a statement by LSU spokesperson Ballard, which stated: There is no evidence that any allegations involving Frank Wilson were ever reported to LSU officials, and none of these allegations were shared during the highly visible, independent Title IX review by Husch Blackwell a review process that Ms. Lewis participated in., As for Lewis firing, Ballard said, While I cannot comment on a specific personnel action, I can provide that between reassignments and departures, there were 40 personnel changes in Athletics following the 2021-22 football season., Lewis said she has been going to therapy for years to manage the trauma of working in a hostile place with no support. LSU declined to make Joseph available for an interview and did not answer questions about his involvement in the case, or whether it is appropriate for coaches to attend interviews in Title IX cases. "The LSU Women's Tennis coach, Julia Sell, released a statement claiming she had no knowledge of the allegations made by my teammate and I," Lewis wrote. Title IX is the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education. LSU has taken the position that these Black womens voices dont matter, English, one of Lewis attorneys, said. College softball rankings: The top 25 teams in the NCAA this week, Quinnipiac stuns Minnesota to win first national title. Two women recounted that Sell told one player that another had said hurtful comments about them. It was a very toxic environment, she said. Four members of the LSU Tennis Team separately made Coach Sell aware of these events between May 2017 and August 2018. The whole system is on the side of the accused.. The team dances to Callin Baton Rouge. It was a joyous occasion. Sell made her do a punishment workout, the player said, but not her roommate. "The statement is a blatant lie. In the third undated incident, according to the report, "Davis was upset with the victim for waving at a friend. Davis participated in the teams first practice on Aug. 4, according to news reports. Two chose to use their full names. Named Big Ten Tennis Athlete of the Week twice (2018 and 2020) 2x member of the . Johnson and another friend both told her that her name was never mentioned in the announcements. NCAA's international athletes still facing NIL challenges, The sorcery and science behind Virginia's swimming dynasty, Report: LSU ignored sexual assault complaints, Author of seven books on college football. Additionally, my parents called during that time span to express their concern, and my coaches brushed them off. The relationship soon turned violent, the woman told police and USA TODAY, with Davis leaving the woman bruised or bleeding on at least six occasions over the course of just over one year. Brennan told USA TODAY she doesnt remember Guice coming to her apartment or giving him permission to be there. I thought I would be really devastated to be done with it and graduate from LSU, she said. I was like, What are you doing?, And then I got up and just ran down the hallway into Sharons office and just started crying. LSU didnt do the right thing back in 2016, but I was hoping they would do the right thing now. She asked, What happened? LSU suspended Parrish for one year. In early September, Sanders who had served as the schools Greek life director before becoming student advocacy and accountability director in 2016 issued sanctions against the frat member: a meeting on anger management and healthy relationships, a course on ethics and decision-making, and a deferred suspension for four semesters. There was a problem saving your notification. The Texas native started her college career at Baylor (playing for Kim Mulkey), but was dismissed from the team after a reported arrest. To date, he has not seen any report identifying him in connection with this alleged incident.. Schools are not oblivious to the fact that even if they can defeat a lawsuit, its still a drain on resources, Nesbitt said. Police arrested Davis in August 2018 on felony charges of second-degree battery against a former girlfriend. Frankenberger, a senior during Sells first season, suffered injuries while being coached by Sell. The Washington Football Team, which drafted Guice in the 2018 NFL drafts second round, released him shortly after his arrest on Aug. 7. One gameday, the former player and her roommate both had their cars towed and were late to practice because of it. Once entering the victim's room he strangled her, punched her in the stomach, and grabbed her ear which caused her earring to be pulled from her ear; bleeding from the ear ensued." The newspaper reported that at least seven LSU officials "had direct knowledge" that Davis was physically abusing his girlfriend but "sat on the information for months, while Davis continued to assault and strangle her.". Another former LSU tennis player told USA Today that she personally reported Davis' abuse to Julia Sell "six to seven months before that, at least. USA TODAY is not naming the fraternity member at the request of the women, who fear retaliation from him. LSU officials had knowledge of sexual assault allegations made against multiple former football players and either ignored those complaints or denied the victims' requests for protection . LSU fired the firm, which did not respond to a request for comment. Miami (Ohio) women's basketball coach DeUnna Hendrix resigned on Wednesday after four seasons at the helm of the program. Yet at each step of the way, LSU officials either doubted the womens stories, didnt investigate, or didnt call the police, allowing Guice to continue his football career. Instead, Andries said she was told that she would have to be the one to switch, because she was the uncomfortable one, and he had the same rights as her. At the heart of the dispute is a conversation between Julia Sell and the father of the tennis player at the April 2017 SEC women's tennis tournament. 1-ranked LSU (35-8, 15-5 SEC) swept all three games in the series, winning 8-6 on Friday, 12-8 on Saturday and 13-11 Sunday. A judge sentenced him to 18 months of prison and credited him for time served and suspended most of the remaining jail time. Meanwhile, an independent report by law firm Husch Blackwell in 2021 outlined myriad issues, including that the school failed to act on misconduct cases that had been reported. Updated: 12:33 PM CDT September 18, 2022. Segar and Ausberry were briefly suspended by the university for their inaction to reports of sexual misconduct throughout the athletics program, but returned to their jobs. Brennan shared the text messages from Dudley with USA TODAY. The Title IX case dragged on for more than six months, during which LSU rarely gave the women updates, twice extended the frat members deadlines to appeal without notifying them, and denied their requests for protection from him during the case, according to the women and their emails with school officials. LSU also declined to issue a no-contact order between her and the frat member;because they hadnt been talking, there isnt any communication to cease, a Title IX employee said in an email to Andries. Thats kind of all I remember, she said. At least thats what Julia Sell said in a video posted to Facebook in May 2017, shortly after Johnson learned that her dream school had awarded her a scholarship. A former LSU women's tennis player says her former coach lied about her knowledge of a Tigers football player physically abusing her between May 2017 and August 2018 and accused the coach of . Photo by Morgan Searles. Former LSU tennis player Jade Lewis is accusing LSU women's tennis coach Julia Sell of looking the other way while multiple people reported in 2017 and 2018 that a football player. If we get worn down enough, were just going to give up at some point. She said she dreaded going to practice and playing matches because she felt she wasnt supported, valued or appreciated for who she was. But after Julia, it was a relief to be gone, which is sad.. LSU noted that students are permitted to bring an adviser of their choosing to interviews for support.. The 5-foot-7 guard is joining Kim Mulkey's 2023 national championship team. She and her mother had befriended one senior on the team. Furthermore, we would never dismiss or doubt any such allegations. Baton Rouge, La. But no one did anything, and it escalated and just went from 0 to 100 really fast.. The lawsuit alleges that Wilson exposed himself to her in her office in 2013 and to two other Black women. While some of the RICO defendants were dismissed in federal court last year, English said he will continue to argue that a criminal enterprise was running LSUs athletic department.. In 2018 he went on to coach at the University of Kansas, where he was placed on administrative leave and then left the university in 2021 amid revelations of the sexual misconduct allegations stemming from LSU. Those two women were Johnson and Jade Lewis. This year, USA TODAY reporters investigating two rape allegations against Guice one by a womans tennis player, the other by a student who was not an athlete filed a public records request with LSU seeking all campus police reports involving him. Both women decided to move forward with a Title IX case. Elisabeth Andries, a junior at Louisiana State University, reported an LSU fraternity member for sexual assaulting her. I would describe her as cold, the former player said. In the suit, she alleges that her bosses created a hostile work environment, where she was subjected to discreet discriminatory acts and has experienced racially hostile work environment throughout her employment since 2005.. The lawsuit is ongoing. LSU last year promoted him to executive director of external relations for the university, in addition to executive deputy athletic director. She just sent me off to the therapist and tried to put me on antidepressants and thats it, she said. The former players father said Sell was constantly focused on his daughters weight if she was losing weight, gaining too much weight, if she was too fast or too slow. She's cold and hard., She said the team was excited to have Sell as coach when she first came to LSU. BATON ROUGE, La. For more than a year, people at the highest levels of the Louisiana State University athletic department fielded complaints about their prized running back, Derrius Guice. But the details of how LSU handled complaints against the other seven, including two who played key roles on its 2020 national championship team, remain largely secret. Deferred suspension, under LSU policy, is a period in which the student must stay out of trouble. 5 min DALLAS As the final seconds ticked off the clock in the first half of the NCAA women's national championship game Sunday afternoon, Jasmine Carson pulled up from the left side and. LSU Athletics, Louisiana State University, 2023. Putting an end to sexual assault is an institutional priority, and we are constantly working to achieve that goal.. LSU declined to make Sanders available for an interview and did not answer any questions about itshandling of the case. Fast-forward four years and this time Van Lith, a two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference first team Joseph had also accompanied Davis to his July 11 interview with Sanders, records show. HoopGurlz 2024 Super 60. I was scared. She has led the Tigers to six straight appearances in the SEC quarterfinals and the NCAA tournament. I am for whatever works to solve our problem. In one such case, Sanders initially sentenced the male student to a yearlong suspension, according to records the woman shared with USA TODAY. Angel Reese #10 of the LSU Lady Tigers speaks during a press conference after LSU beat the Iowa Hawkeyes during the 2023 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament championship game at on April 2, 2023 . Its not only athlete cases that have stalled in LSUs Title IX process. One day we were in a meeting with another staff member, and while I was sitting at a table, Frank comes around to the side of me, kisses me on the lips. I think I just kind of blacked out after that..