In the latest development concerning sexual harassment at LSU, former associate athletic director Sharon Lewis alleged in federal court filings Thursday that assistant football coach Frank Wilson sexually harassed her and another female employee during his last stint at the school. Lewis added the allegations to an ongoing lawsuit she filed last year against LSU, which terminated her employment in January. Lewis has used the allegations against Wilson in an attempt to bolster her case that LSU officials retaliated against her for attempting to report sexual harassment. Wilson, who is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, returned to LSU last December as the associate head coach and running backs coach. He was previously the head coach at UT-San Antonio and McNeese State. Lewis also said in the lawsuit she reported the sexual harassment to LSU officials at the time. "We are unaware of any prior allegations against Frank Wilson, and there is no evidence that any such allegations were ever reported to LSU officials," LSU spokesman Ernie Ballard said in a statement. "Further, none of these allegations were shared during the highly visible, independent Title IX review that LSU initiated last year." Find the full report here. We also have updates below on the other spring sports at LSU, with plenty of action coming this weekend. Before we get to them, an amended bill filed Thursday in Louisiana would clear the way for universities, their employees and boosters to facilitate NIL deals. The changes would give a lot more flexibility to schools within the state to use NIL. The bill will be considered during the upcoming legislative session that begins March 14. Now onto the individual sports. BASEBALL: The Tigers arrived in Houston for the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic, where they'll face Oklahoma in their first game of the round-robin tournament Friday night. Leah Vann has details on how to watch and a profile of third baseman Jack Merrifield, whose passion always shines through. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: LSU enters the Southeastern Conference tournament this weekend in a comfortable position. As Jim Kleinpeter explained, the Tigers have a top-four seed and home-court advantage in the NCAA tournament all but locked up, so while a league title would be great, it's not a priority. GYMNASTICS: Alyona Shchennikova has brought a lot to LSU gymnastics, from 9.90 scores to energy and... jokes about mac-and-cheese? While Shchennikova may only compete in one event Friday against Kentucky, she's an important piece of this team. Scott Rabalais has the story. MEN'S BASKETBALL: LSU continued to sputter in a heartbreaking loss to Arkansas, but Will Wade said he still has reasons for hope in his team. The Tigers, who are projected to comfortably make the NCAA tournament, host their regular season finale Saturday against Alabama. FOOTBALL: The board of supervisors approved term sheets for seven new assistants, and the Tigers' three linemen at the NFL combine this week have embraced a brotherhood during the pre-draft process. SOFTBALL: In the first game of a home-and-home series between ranked teams, LSU beat UL 4-0 behind six shutout innings from Shelbi Sunseri. FINALLY: HERE'S A GREAT DEAL If you can’t tell from this newsletter, we try to keep you up to date on the latest news at LSU (and elsewhere). Please support our work, and stay on top of everything. If you’re not a subscriber, come join us. Thank you for reading. Until next time, The Advocate beat team (Scott Rabalais, Sheldon Mickles, Wilson Alexander and Leah Vann) |