Gov. Edwards ‘very troubled’ by report on LSU’s Title IX violations: ‘it really made me sick to the stomach’

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Gov. John Bel Edwards spoke publicly for the first time in response to the LSU Title IX report during a press conference on Tuesday, March 9.

LSU made the Husch Blackwell report available to the public on Friday, March 5. The report was done by a third-party law firm which showed LSU’s failure at investigating sexual misconduct allegations.

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Gov. Edwards said:

“I believe that the individuals who actually completed the study were able to make some recommendations to the LSU board and president as to what discipline they thought might be appropriate under the circumstances. It is my understanding the president adopted that and I’m not going to second-guess it.

I will tell you that I was obviously very, very troubled by that report. I did have an opportunity over the weekend to read it in its entirety.

What I’m about to say is true not just LSU you but it’s true for any institution of education in Louisiana.

It is imperative that young people know and that their parents know that when they attend a university or college here in Louisiana, they are going to be safe.

We’re going to do everything we can humanly possible to make sure that happens.

And we’re gonna have all of the systems in place all the right policies. We’re going to have the right people, We’re going to have enough people. We’re going to devote enough resources to do this that we’re not gonna have confusion and ineffective organizational leadership that we’ve had in the past that were highlighted in the report.

And so I’m very trouble but I’m very however gratified by the fact that LSU made the report fully available to the public within a few days of getting it.

They’ve already committed to adopting all 18 recommendations and take an action on those I’m so so lucky it’s a challenging situation but I will tell you that I was mortified when I read the report and it said it really made me sick to the stomach, to be honest with you. And I am determined that we are going to improve not just at LSU but that it doesn’t happen anywhere else.”

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