What this long-time staffer says should not come as a major surprise...but is very disappointing: Protecting the LSU brand above all.
It’s from an unnamed “long-time football staff member” discussing how Miles was allowed to sexually harass female student workers, ignore the commands of his bosses, abuse his power as a prominent and winning coach and sexualize the office by making sure that the coeds who work there “have a certain look” … i.e. blonde and attractive.
All of it was shocking to the staff in real time. All of it was tolerated anyway.
“It just baffles me, though, that for so long, this went on and that kinda became the normal, right?” the staffer said, clearly trying to come to grips with their role in it.
“And you just don’t talk about it and you don’t say anything, you just kinda go, ‘Cuz we’re protecting LSU, we’re protecting our brand, we’re protecting our head coach, we’re protecting this, we love LSU so we’re gonna be loyal to LSU so we’re gonna do what we can to help it and try to fix it,’ ” the staffer said. "... I always felt like we always had to be protective, you know? You want to protect LSU.”
That the attitude inside LSU was to dismiss red flags that ranged from concerning to egregious in an effort to “protect” the head coach and the football program is terrifying.
That it still occurred after so many other massive, high-profile sexual assault scandals in athletics followed this precise blueprint should serve as a fire alarm for all of college sports. Essentially, nothing has changed.
Why did LSU allow Les Miles to carry on? 'We're protecting our brand' (yahoo.com)
It’s from an unnamed “long-time football staff member” discussing how Miles was allowed to sexually harass female student workers, ignore the commands of his bosses, abuse his power as a prominent and winning coach and sexualize the office by making sure that the coeds who work there “have a certain look” … i.e. blonde and attractive.
All of it was shocking to the staff in real time. All of it was tolerated anyway.
“It just baffles me, though, that for so long, this went on and that kinda became the normal, right?” the staffer said, clearly trying to come to grips with their role in it.
“And you just don’t talk about it and you don’t say anything, you just kinda go, ‘Cuz we’re protecting LSU, we’re protecting our brand, we’re protecting our head coach, we’re protecting this, we love LSU so we’re gonna be loyal to LSU so we’re gonna do what we can to help it and try to fix it,’ ” the staffer said. "... I always felt like we always had to be protective, you know? You want to protect LSU.”
That the attitude inside LSU was to dismiss red flags that ranged from concerning to egregious in an effort to “protect” the head coach and the football program is terrifying.
That it still occurred after so many other massive, high-profile sexual assault scandals in athletics followed this precise blueprint should serve as a fire alarm for all of college sports. Essentially, nothing has changed.
Why did LSU allow Les Miles to carry on? 'We're protecting our brand' (yahoo.com)
