Attorney: ‘LSU Will Spend Whatever it Takes to Fix Problems’

The much anticipated hearing on problems at LSU did not include some of the familiar faces from Louisiana’s flagship university. Senator Regina Barrow, Chairs the Senate Committee on Women and Children. She told the panel she did receive a letter from an attorney for LSU indicating no one from LSU would testify.

LSU General Counsel Winston DeCuir did appear before the committee. He expressed to the members "LSU has attempted and will continue to cooperate with this committee in fixing our Title IX problems." DeCuir added "LSU is going to spend whatever it takes in terms of money and time to fix these problems."

DeCuir also told the panel "I understand the perception of my letter is LSU is going to stop cooperating, but that is just not the case. My job is to defend the school. At some point late Tuesday afternoon I was informed that a massive lawsuit was going to be filed against LSU. In light of that, I have to take steps to defend the school. And in light of that lawsuit, it is just not appropriate to have folks testify before this committee."

DeCuir did tell the committee LSU is going to work to make improvements. He also invited the panel to come visit the new Title IX office.

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LSU Athletic Director Scott Woodward was expected to attend the hearing but that changed after a $50 million dollar lawsuit was filed against the University. There was also some discussion about coach Ed Orgeron testifying, but he decided to send a written statement instead.

You can click here to view the hearing.

Senator Sharon Hewitt also expressed concerns about how many tax dollars are being spend to correct the problems facing the university. She says those dollars could have been spent on educational needs if the school had handled these concerns correctly from the start.

Senator Karen Carter Peterson asked DeCuir directly: "Has anyone at LSU been dismissed as a result of the discovery of these problems"? DeCuir answered "No."

Peterson added "are there going to be consequences and when?" She says it appears we are just continuing to kick the can down the road. She says no one has really taken any action. She questioned when will there be consequences for the bad behavior.

DeCuir told the members of the committee "We are not trying to simply fix one instance of bad behavior. We had a system for handling Title IX problems that was not step up properly."