LSU Football: Ed Orgeron mentioned in USA Today’s Derrius Guice investigation

LSU football head coach Ed Orgeron was mentioned in USA Today’s investigation of former Tigers running back Derrius Guice.

On Wednesday, USA Today published a report on that alleges LSU football didn’t properly investigate multiple women’s claims of rape by former Tigers running back Derrius Guice.

From USA Today:

"A USA TODAY investigation found that the women’s allegations were shared at the time with multiple people at the school – including at least two coaches, an athletics administrator and a nurse – yet the school does not appear to have investigated."

Guice, who was selected in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Washington Football team, was arrested in early August on domestic violence related charges. He was released by Washington on the same day.

The investigation by USA Today is focused on Guice’s time at LSU (separate from his arrest in Washington).  According to USA Today, two former LSU students said Guice raped them months apart in 2016. Guice was a freshman at the time.

LSU football’s Ed Orgeron mentioned in the investigation

USA Today interviewed a former LSU player who was the boyfriend of one of the women who made the allegations.

The player, who was a recruit at the time, spoke to USA Today anonymously for the investigative report.

Here’s what he had to say:

"The woman’s boyfriend at the time, an LSU football recruit, wasn’t at the party. He said the woman told him afterward about the alleged assault and her conversation with the nurse. His description matched that of the woman’s.The former boyfriend redshirted his freshman year and said he steered clear of Guice because “I probably would have lost my (expletive) on him.” He said LSU head football coach Ed Orgeron brought up the subject of his then-girlfriend and Guice about a year after the alleged assault, telling the athlete he shouldn’t be bothered by it.“(Orgeron) said, ‘Everybody’s girlfriend sleeps with other people,’ ” the former player told USA TODAY.The former player said he doesn’t know how Orgeron knew what happened, but he believes the coach knew it was not consensual.“I lost all respect for him,” the player said."

Orgeron has not commented publicy on the report. He declined an opportunity to provide a comment to USA Today.

The optics of all of this are certainly bad. But for now, it’s important to let the facts play out and put all the information together.