When USA Today drops an exclusive report on you, then you know it’s real. Just ask USA Gymnastics, Michigan State, and Larry Nassar.
In a report released Monday morning, USA Today lays out the carelessness of Louisiana State University when it comes to sexual misconduct complaints and rape allegations down in Baton Rouge.
“I just think that honestly they don’t care,” one accuser told USA TODAY. “The whole system is on the side of the accused.”
And while the issues at LSU are campus-wide, the football team is at the heart of things, as Ed Orgeron has some explaining to do. According to the report, at least nine football players have been reported to police for sexual misconduct and dating violence since Orgeron has been the head coach. However, the details of how the school and program handled things are unknown, as some of the players that were responsible had their suspensions deferred or were allowed to stay on campus.
When you’re the face of a defending national championship-winning college football program that is making $8.9 million this year, answering tough questions is part of your responsibility, no matter how much you did or didn’t know of what was going on in the program you’ve been a part of since 2015.
Over the last few months, Orgeron has proved that he is incapable of handling and addressing layered and complicated situations. Which also makes him unfit to do this job.
Earlier this month, freshman wide receiver Koy Moore took to social media to detail an alleged incident with the police, in which he said he had guns pulled on him as they assumed he had a gun and drugs on him.
“I was violated numerous times even as going as far as trying to unzip my pants in search of a weapon that I repeatedly told them I did not have,” wrote Moore.
In the wake of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Jacob Blake, this is what Orgeron said about Moore’s claim with police in the same city where Alton Sterling was killed by cops.
“I am aware of the serious statements that Koy Moore made on social media about being violated by police officers Saturday evening. LSU and the Baton Rouge Police Department are investigating the incident.”
“While I cannot comment on the investigation, what I can say is that we must work collectively to embrace our differences. We have to listen, learn and come together to combat social injustice and racism if we are to create a safer and more equitable society for all people.”
Orgeron doesn’t understand that it isn’t Black people’s responsibility to fix social injustices and racism, given that we didn’t create these issues and have been on the receiving end of them for more than 400 years in this country.
He’s also victim-blaming in his statement. But what do you expect from a man that thinks that the school he works at will actually do their jobs when it comes to addressing systemic issues. This is what he told USA Today when they reached out about their report.
“We are committed to a culture of safety, equity and accountability for all students and staff. We provide education, training and resources to combat violence, sexual misconduct, and inequality,” he wrote in a statement. “When we become aware of accusations, we have an obligation to immediately report every allegation to the University’s Title IX office so that appropriate due process can be implemented.”
If you haven’t realized by now, Orgeron doesn’t care about the safety of women, systemic racism, or police brutality. He could care less about COVID-19, too.
“I think, not all of our players, but most of our players have caught it,” Orgeron said back in September about the coronavirus and how it was spreading through his program.
“I think, hopefully, that once you catch it, you don’t get it again. I’m not a doctor. I think they have that 90-day window, so most of the players that have caught it, we do feel like they’ll be eligible for games.”
Orgeron is so careless that he didn’t bother to take the time to research that you can catch COVID-19 more than once. But, this is what happens when you have a fanbase and sections of the sports media that will turn a blind eye to matters of serious nature all because a coach has a “cool accent.”
LSU then announced that they were getting rid of CDC wellness checks as a requirement for getting into the stadium on game days all because they didn’t want people standing in long lines.
This is the part where I remind you that at least four of Orgeron’s players opted out of this season due to the coronavirus and that two of their games, so far, have been postponed due to COVID-19.
A few years back, a football-crazed Red state had a football-smart and charming head coach that led their favorite program to a College Football National Championship.
The state was Ohio. The school was Ohio State. The coach was Urban Meyer. The mishandling of multiple accusations when it came to violence against women is what ended his coaching career.
Right now, Louisiana is a football-crazed Red state that has a football-smart and charming head coach that just led their favorite program to a College Football National Championship.
It remains to be seen if Orgeron’s career will follow Meyer’s.
But even if it doesn’t, we already have enough evidence that proves that Ed Orgeron is unfit to run a college football program in 2020 due to his inability to properly handle and address layered and complicated situations.
Besides, doing the right thing is much easier than creating a 4-3 scheme that will wreak havoc in the SEC.
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