UK says it was unaware of 'most serious' sex abuse allegations against former swim coach

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The University of Kentucky, athletics director Mitch Barnhart and two former swim coaches have yet to respond in court to a Title IX lawsuit filed against them alleging sexual assault against former UK coach Lars Jorgensen and an insufficient action by school officials, but a statement from UK president Eli Capilouto on Friday addressed some of those allegations more extensively than the university has offered to this point.

A suit filed in U.S. District Court in Lexington in April alleges that Jorgenson, the UK swim coach from 2014-23, sexually harassed, sexually assaulted and raped female coaches and athletes. The suit has been brought by Briggs Alexander, who swam and coached under the name of Bridgette Alexander at UK but has since transitioned, and an anonymous defendant.

They say UK ignored emails when Jorgensen was hired that he had an inappropriate relationship with a college swimmer at his previous schools, as well as a report of sexual misconduct brought by a coach from another sport during his time at UK.

On Friday, in a letter to the UK community, Capilouto said "The most serious of the allegations were only known to us at the time a lawsuit was filed by two former staff members and after the coach had been dismissed."

He added that he and Barnhart, "are sickened by allegations that members of the UK community suffered harm because of the actions of someone entrusted to protect and empower our student athletes and staff."

His comments came in response to a negotiated settlement with the NCAA acknowledging that the swim program had exceeded NCAA limits on countable athletic activities, not providing athletes with required days off and exceeding the allowable practice hours for nearly three years.

UK agreed with the NCAA that it failed to monitor its swimming and diving program and that the underlying violations demonstrated a head coach responsibility violation. Jorgensen did not participate in the process and will face his own hearing. A full decision will be announced at the conclusion of that process.

With regard to the sexual misconduct allegations Jorgensen faces, Capilouto said, "We will not tolerate abuse, and neither should anyone who is a member of our community. The responsibility in these cases is for our athletics administration to report allegations as soon as they become aware of them. Our Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity Office (IEEO) is to investigate those allegations and make recommendations for potential remedies. Those processes are being followed at UK. But we need to go beyond that."

He announced a series of measures designed to address investigations of sexual misconduct, establishing clearer rules and ramifications, and improving compliance efforts and communication.

Among the specific measures being enacted are the hiring of additional personnel for investigations of sexual misconduct, better management of caseloads to ensure more timely handling of cases and better records management.

He also says that UK will change policies, including a “not eligible for rehire” designation for those found responsible for policy violations, including specific language addressing sexual misconduct in employment contracts and enhanced pre-employment screening.

In addition to abuse he alleges at the hands of Jorgensen, Alexander said he found Kentucky’s Title IX process and personnel less than supportive.

"I disclosed my abuse and thought that it was being taken care of," Alexander said in a news conference on April 17. "And months went by, and I never heard anything back. So, I reached out. And I was just repeatedly discouraged and vigorously discouraged to not come forward and to not, you know, publish this reporting. And I think that, again, I'm going to say that's what's hurt. That's what's hurting me the most right now in this moment. Because the Title IX office is there to protect us as student-athletes when our coaches aren't protecting us. In this situation, he wasn't. We should have been able to trust the Title IX office and none of us could, and we didn't know that."

A legal response from UK to the lawsuit is due by Aug. 9.

Related Stories: