Ex-Kentucky swim coach Lars Jorgensen's lawyer believes client being targeted with lawsuit
A lawyer for former Kentucky swim coach Lars Jorgensen believes the lawsuit against his client is the result of Jorgensen being targeted.
Greg Anderson, Jorgensen’s lawyer, said his client is being targeted for supporting UK swimmer Riley Gaines' criticism of the “woke NCAA philosophy” of allowing a transgender woman to participate in women’s swimming and diving, according to a Lexington news outlet.
“The timing of it, in light of her statements publicly, is extremely suspicious,” Anderson told the Lexington news outlet. “We will be exploring that.”
Gaines took to X, formerly known as Twitter, on April 14 and expressed disgust about the lawsuit.
"Lars was someone I trusted, loved, & respected," she wrote. "I would have gone to bat for him & defended him until the end. I feel entirely blind sighted & betrayed. To be extra clear here, I never saw or heard any of these claims taking place, but it isn't difficult to say I vehemently condemn all violence, especially sexual violence against women.
"While I spend most of my time speaking to the harm and severity of allowing men into women's sports, we can't neglect or condone other issues that are far too common in female athletics like sexual abuse from authority figures. It's my mission to defend women (really, humanity) and this falls in line."
Jorgensen has denied allegations that were made in a lawsuit filed April 12 of fostering a "toxic, sexually hostile environment" within the Wildcats' swim program. The suit further claims the university allowed Jorgensen "to prey on, sexually harass, and commit horrific sexual assaults and violent rapes against young female coaches and collegiate athletes who were reliant on him."
Former Kentucky swim team captain Briggs Alexander is one of two former UK team members who filed the lawsuit, which names Jorgensen, former coach Gary Conelly, athletics director Mitch Barnhart and the university itself, last week. The other party is unidentified. Alexander told The Athletic he was “vigorously discouraged” from speaking out about the alleged abuse when he went to UK’s Title IX office.
“I went to them and disclosed my abuse and thought it was going to be taken care of. … I was repeatedly discouraged and vigorously discouraged to not come forward,” Alexander told The Athletic.
When asked for a comment Saturday, UK spokesperson Jay Blanton released a statement to The Courier Journal, via email, on behalf of the university. He acknowledged that Jorgensen is no longer employed by the university and said that the university doesn’t “as a matter of policy, discuss specific personnel issues."
Four days later, a university spokesperson released a statement saying it has referred the allegations about Jorgensen to law enforcement.
“We are distressed to hear the disturbing allegations of sexual assault and criminal behavior by a former University of Kentucky employee. No one should be subject to the kind of abuse described in the civil lawsuit filed Friday,” the statement said. “Our top priority is the health and safety of our students and employees. We have no tolerance for harm, harassment or abuse."
The Athletic was the first to report the allegations and lawsuit in a story that published April 12. The story detailed allegations of misconduct against Jorgensen, who resigned last year after a 10-season tenure with the swimming and diving program amid an investigation into possible NCAA compliance violations.
Following Jorgensen's resignation, UK hired Bret Lundgaard — the Ivy League Coach of the Year in 2022-23 at Princeton, where he had worked since 2017-18 — as the program's new coach.
Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Ex-Kentucky swimmer 'discouraged' from discussing alleged coach abuse
