LSU Wins Sharon Lewis' Sexual Harassment Lawsuit, 5-0, But Appeal Likely, And Case Still Alive In State Court

BATON ROUGE, La. - LSU appeared to be losing a $50 million sexual harassment lawsuit through much of a seven-day civil trial in federal court that ended Wednesday with a jury verdict.

But a late rally via sharp and credible testimony Tuesday from executive athletic director Verge Ausberry and assistant football coach Frank Wilson may have been what turned the tide for LSU.

All five sexual harassment-related accusations by fired LSU associate athletic director Sharon Lewis versus LSU received a "No," by the jury foreman, one-by-one.

Attorney Larry English (left) represented fired LSU associate athletic director Sharon Lewis. (Photos Courtesy of Tiger Rag Magazine).

Two attorneys watching the proceedings over the last two weeks as unattached spectators expressed surprise that Lewis lost. But in the end, Lewis and his fellow lawyers apparently were unable to prove most of their flashy myriad of accusations to the jury.

LSU Former Associate Athletic Director Sharon Lewis Loses

As Phelps Dunbar attorney Michael Victorian, representing LSU, said in his opening: "This lawsuit is a hustle. You have to make sure you listen for the truth. None of those allegations are supported by facts in this case. That's the hustle. That's how they sell you a good story. Never mind the truth."

The all-white jury of five men and three women ruled against Lewis' charges related to a termination last January that her legal team argued broke Title IX federal law and gender discrimination. The other nays concerned LSU's alleged dangerous working environment for women wrought with a "toxic male culture" and pay raises she did not receive.

Lewis and her entire legal team are black. Most of the lawyers representing LSU from the Phelps Dunbar firm in Baton Rouge are white.

LSU's Legal Team Had A Home Field Advantage

The trial also played out in LSU Town, aka Baton Rouge, even though many such cases feature a change of venue. All Baton Rouge federal judges recused themselves because of possible conflicts of interest with either LSU or LSU's former Taylor Porter law firm that also fell under Lewis' web of accusations.

Instead of moving the trial from the Middle District in Baton Rouge to the Eastern District in New Orleans, though, Judge Susie Morgan of New Orleans came to Baton Rouge to preside over the trial.

LSU Executive AD Verge Ausberry's Testimony Was Riveting

Ausberry, who is black, made a critical point about Lewis' possible racism that obviously caught the attention of the all-white jury as they sat up in their chairs.

"Sharon was OK with most people," Ausberry said when asked about Lewis' working relationships. "Sharon had problems when people said no to her, especially white people. Every white person who disagreed with her was a racist."

And LSU attorneys had Ausberry detail his long, friendly and advisory relationship with Lewis. Both were athletes at LSU in the late 1980s - Ausberry in football and Lewis in track. Ausberry began working in the athletic department in the early 2000s. Lewis began in recruiting in the football office at about the same time under then-coach Nick Saban. Ausberry recommended Lewis to Saban, who was leaning toward hiring another candidate.

"A lot of times people throw out the race card when things go badly," Ausberry said. "I know what real racism is. Sharon was not a victim of that."

Wilson, like Ausberry, remained poised while being cross examined by Lewis' attorneys. Lewis' strongest sexual harassment and sexual misconduct accusations were against Wilson. He worked with Lewis in recruiting from 2010-15 and then returned to LSU in 2021 when new coach Brian Kelly hired him.

Wilson skillfully pointed out a possible motivation for Lewis' updated lawsuit in 2022 from the original in 2021. The update added Wilson just a few months after Kelly rehired Wilson, who left the head coaching job at McNeese State to return to LSU.

"My thought is this," Wilson interjected without a question. "I believe we are at this point because I refused to testify against Les Miles when Sharon asked me to."

Most of Lewis' allegations in her lawsuit involved Miles (LSU's head coach from 2005-16) ordering her to hire more attractive young LSU coeds as student workers under Lewis in recruiting.

"While I was at McNeese, I had cordial, friendly conversations with Sharon," Wilson said. "Until that request that I turned down, everything changed. All the allegations against me she made are not true - egregious and not true."

Wilson, though, did not have as strong answers to the accusations against him of sexual misconduct with other student female recruiting workers. He just denied them repeatedly.

Ausberry's and Wilson's testimonies each were more credible than that of LSU athletic director Scott Woodward and associate athletic director Miriam Segar last week. They each criticized without any specifics the voluminous and comprehensive Husch Blackwell report of 2021. That report by an outside law firm hired by LSU detailed LSU's dark history of poorly handling and reporting sexual assault and misconduct of its football players toward LSU coeds.

Verge Ausberry And Frank Wilson Shined On The Stand

Woodward called the Husch Blackwell report "very flawed." Segar said the report was "horribly inaccurate in many respects." As a result of the Husch Blackwell report, LSU suspended Segar for a month and changed her job in the athletic department to have less contact with students.

On Wednesday, LSU's own university-wide communications department praised the Husch Blackwell report in its statement on the jury's ruling.

"As an institution over the past three years, we have built a robust and nationally recognized Title IX office with more than 12 experts who are committed to educating and protecting our entire LSU community while moving swiftly and holding any offenders fully accountable," the statement said. "This will continue to be a priority for us."

Husch Blackwell reported its findings to LSU and the public at a press conference at LSU on March 5, 2021 - just three months short of three years ago. An LSU communications spokesman confirmed to OutKick that the above LSU statement was indeed referring to the Husch Blackwell report. LSU had already started changing its culture before that press conference, according to then-LSU president Thomas Galligan.

One of the main objectives he spoke at length about at the time and carried through on was a complete restructuring of LSU's Title IX office, including adding many employees and directors.

Other witnesses praised the work of Husch Blackwell that Woodward and Segar ripped, including Board of Supervisors member Mary Werner.

"There were reports in national media about LSU's problems with sexual conduct and power-based violence against women," Werner said when asked why LSU tapped Husch Blackwell in the first place.

Much of Lewis' lawsuit and her lawyers' work in the trial piggybacked the Husch Blackwell report.

Sharon Lewis' Attorney Larry English Says Fight Not Over

And Lewis' lead attorney Larry English said the fight did not end with Wednesday's verdict.

"Obviously, we're disappointed," English said to print and television reporters after the verdict outside the Russell B. Long Federal Building. "Listen, we're in the United States of America, and we operate under a jury system. And the jury has spoken. But also, we're in the United States of America, so that is not necessarily the last word."

English said he is considering a federal appeal, and the lawsuit already remains in state court. It originated there and has been rejuvenated after the retirement of a previous judge who threw out several parts of Lewis' case. Many in LSU's legal community that judge should have also recused himself.

"We have claims on appeal in state court, yes," English said. "That will be at the first of next year. We have other claims that, yes, are alive in state court. And we think that this case has done a great job in helping us prove out a lot of the evidence that we need to prosecute in state court."

That case is expected to attempt to tackle former LSU legal team Taylor Porter, representatives of which did not appear in the federal trial after they appeared on the witness list. English and his lawyers and staff tried repeatedly to subpoena Taylor Porter attorney Vicki Crochet, a former LSU lead attorney, but failed.

Former LSU Law Firm May Be Focus Of Another Trial

"Federal law prohibits me from making her (Crochet) come," an incensed Judge Morgan said on the record to the attorneys during a trial break. "But I want it to be known on the record that she is an officer of the court, and she should be here."

Lewis' lawsuit alleges that Crochet and Taylor Porter hid documents pertaining to allegations against Miles at their offices.

"There were federal documents, legal documents stored illegally in (Taylor Porter) offices," English said. "We think in terms of our state claims, there was a lot of compelling evidence that makes us feel very positive about our case."

Lewis stood next to English, but had no comment.

Several of the lawyers from LSU's Phelps Dunbar legal team of Baton Rouge were asked for comment, but refused.

"Anybody who loves this state and anybody who loves LSU," English said, "should be very troubled by the evidence that was put on in this federal trial."