by Riley Overend 150
April 13th, 2024 News
Two former University of Kentucky swimmers filed a lawsuit on Friday alleging that the athletic department was complicit in allowing ex-head coach Lars Jorgensen “to foster a toxic, sexually hostile environment within the swim program and 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.”
The 53-year-old Jorgensen resigned last summer amid an investigation after a decade in Lexington, receiving a $75,000 settlement and foregoing the rest of the $402,500 left on his contract through the 2024-25 season. He appeared in SafeSport’s disciplinary database in November for unspecified allegations of misconduct. Details of those allegations surfaced Friday in an article by The Athletic.
The first alleged assault dates back to December of 2013, at a team Christmas party that Jorgensen hosted at his house. A former swim team staffer told The Athletic that Jorgensen forced her into his bedroom and raped her. He is accused of continuing to abuse the staffer over the next two years and telling her that nobody would believe her if she told anyone. She ultimately left in 2016 for a job at a “less prominent program.”
One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit is Briggs Alexander, a former team captain and an assistant coach with the Wildcats. The complaint claims that Jorgensen “groomed” Alexander during her time on the women’s team from 2014-18.
“Jorgensen isolated Alexander, sought to gain her trust, strove to control every facet of her life, and repeatedly made sexualized comments in an attempt to desensitize sexual topics,” says the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
In December of 2019, after the team’s annual Christmas party at Jorgensen’s house, Alexander alleges that Jorgensen forced her into his bedroom, pinned her down by the wrists, and raped her. She also described three more sexual assaults while working as a volunteer assistant coach (2019-20) and assistant coach (2020-22) and a fourth that allegedly occurred in April of 2023, almost a year after resigning in May of 2022.
Alexander now identifies as male, but the lawsuit uses gender pronouns that align with his transition timeline so readers can understand “who I was in the moment when I was being abused.”
Former Kentucky swim coach Gary Conelly and current athletic director Mitch Barnhart are also named as defendants in the lawsuit along with Jorgensen and the university for their “deliberate indifference.” Kentucky’s Title IX office has reportedly known since 2019 about accusations that Jorgensen had been in a relationship with one of his swimmers at Toledo and sexually assaulted a staff member at Kentucky. In the lawsuit, former members of the Wildcats program say they were“vigorously discouraged” by a Title IX officer from reporting Jorgensen’s abuse.
In 2014,a former Toledo softball coach accused Jorgensen of having a long-term romance with a swimmer, hiring her as an assistant coach, and ultimately promoting her to head coach in a Title IX lawsuit where he was one of three examples of male head coaches and administrators who “committed much more egregious offenses” without being fired. Conelly told The Athleticthat he looked into that situation and said Jorgensen only started dating her after she stopped swimming.
“This is not an uncommon occurrence that there is a relationship between a coach and an ex-swimmer,” Conelly said.
Former Princeton head coachBret Lundgaardwashired as Jorgensen’s replacement in July.
As a swimmer, Jorgensen set program records at the University of Tennessee and went on to represent the U.S. at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. He has also held the record for the Ironman World Championships for nearly two decades with a swimming split of 46:41.
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David Worthington
9 hours ago
Hey Ray Looze, remember when you called Lars a “gift to coaching” in support of him when this process began a few months ago? Maybe you should pick better friends 🤷🏻♂️. Or, maybe the creep branch doesn’t fall too far from the tree…..
Also, I believe Lars’s lawyer stated that “when the facts come out, a lot of people are going to have egg on their faces and it’s not going to be me or my client”
-Greg Anderson
Hey Greg – how those eggs taste? Poached or scrambled?
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Lars 4 Prison
Reply to David Worthington
6 hours ago
Can’t make a Tomlette without breaking some Greggs
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Howie
Reply to David Worthington
5 hours ago
David i’m mildly curious if the lawyer will stick around through this or bail after having read the full lawsuit? That fool made that disgusting comment long before there was any real discovery or details. Katie Strang wrote an amazing piece that put egg all over many faces –Lars, Mitch, and THE person that groomed Lars to take over the program Gary Conman Conelly.
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Maddie D
1 day ago
It’s ironic that a year ago, I commented on the SwimSwam post of Lars when he first resigned, and some of the hate I got because parents heard from their children that I was the problem… I was not the problem. I was aware of the problem, and when I went to our sports administrator/associate AD, academic advisor, and compliance director, I expressed my feelings towards the coaches and the bullying from the men’s team. None of those individuals I met with really listened to me, and I was gaslit into thinking I had overreacted or that there was nothing they could do about it and maybe transferring would be a good option. Aside from this, I got to UK…Read more »
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GoBirds
Reply to Maddie D
1 day ago
While I appreciate you coming forth with your struggles, this is not about you. I was on the team for 4 years with Lars, experience worse, and yet I will not come on here and rant my story that doesn’t even come close to what these other girls went through. Show empathy for your past teammates, and stop making it about yourself.
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CADWALLADER GANG
Reply to GoBirds
1 day ago
this is such a disgusting comment. why can’t she also share her experience?! if anything by her sharing the hell she’s been through shines a light at the nastiness that has been brewing at Kentucky. you are no better than those who have gaslit and silenced her.
Maddie
Reply to GoBirds
1 day ago
I do feel for the girls and what they experienced. Putting trust into the program and Lars as a coach and it turning into something like this is traumatizing and I pray they get the justice they deserve. Just because I didn’t have the same experience as them or you apparently, does not mean my feelings are not validated. I’m sure you may have gone through worse but are choosing not to share and that is your preference. I stayed quiet for so long and I finally have built up the confidence to share my story and I’m so sorry that my opinions offended you. I hope you are able to heal from what is hurting you.
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Iambic Pentameter
Reply to GoBirds
12 hours ago
Maddie, thank you for putting your story out there. GoBirds, when you have had some therapy and are a little farther on the other side of this, I think you may see the good that posters like Maddie do by sharing their stories.
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Trinity
Reply to GoBirds
10 hours ago
A big part of the lawsuit is that Lars sought to control people by controlling what they ate and affecting their perception of themselves and their bodies. Maddie’s story gives context to the ways that was done and in no way diminishes what others went through.
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Momofakindswimmer
Reply to GoBirds
9 hours ago
She can have a voice in this too..quit telling victims that what happened to them “wasn’t bad enough “
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This Guy
Reply to Maddie D
1 day ago
Body fat testing was mandatory? I’ve only known of programs making it completely optional and not mandatory. The program I was a part of made a real point to make sure everyone knew they did not need to participate and was only if someone wanted additional data points. I’d say about half the team actually did the testing, and this was 20 years ago.
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Momofakindswimmer
Reply to Maddie D
9 hours ago
Reach out to the lawyers representing this case. They told me they will listen to any of the athletes stories. No fee.
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Alex Johnson
1 day ago
As a former UK swimmer that was on the team while some of this happened, I am disgusted. We were young, impressionable adults that put our trust into Lars, the coaching staff, and the athletic department to only find out we were not safe during our time swimming at Kentucky.
My freshman year, Lars told me I could lose 10-15 pounds and I would be a better swimmer if I lost weight. Well, 10 pounds turned into 20 and more and more. I got to the point to where I was only 13% body fat. As a woman, this is not healthy. I was encouraged to join “run club” and put in extra work. I was told “I looked…Read more »
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Momofakindswimmer
Reply to Alex Johnson
9 hours ago
Reach out to the attorney on the case. They want to hear your story.
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Fifty fifty
2 days ago
Being part of this program was probably one of the worst experiences of my life, the amount of abuse and shame that every single coach caused us was insane, and we all thought that was “normal”, but in reality we just didn’t know better, or at least I didn’t know better for not knowing how college swimming worked… I remember at the time people that loved Lars, said that we (the people that quit the team) were weak, and we were just complaining about their coaching style! Hours and hours of abuse, both mentally and physical (doing 3+ practices in one day because we got punishment for going “too slow”),multiple punishment workouts at 4am before our 6am practice, calling people…Read more »
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AZswummer
Reply to Fifty fifty
2 days ago
Just horrible. I’m so sorry.
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CADWALLADER GANG
Reply to Fifty fifty
1 day ago
i’m so sorry you had to go through that. 🫂
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Maddie D
Reply to Fifty fifty
1 day ago
preach
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Momofakindswimmer
Reply to Fifty fifty
9 hours ago
Reach out to the attorney. They want to hear your story.
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Huh?
2 days ago
Why no criminal charges?
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MH
Reply to Huh?
1 day ago
higher burden of proof for criminal vs civil
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Be the reason
Reply to MH
1 day ago
Possibly if more people contact these girls attorneys w their personal experiences they can band together and put him in jail and/or make UK take accountability and also cover the costs of therapy for any swimmers who swam under this guy over those years! Look at Larry Nassar (gymnastics), Penn State….don’t give up for those of you who were young adults who will live w the trauma for life. Don’t let younger generations of swimmers (like your future children) feel like they have to put up w abusive coaches. Bc there are so many of them hopping from team to team. DONT give up. Regain control of your life by finding purpose in why this happened to you. I saw…Read more »
Last edited 1 day ago by Be the reason
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Info?
Reply to Be the reason
1 day ago
Attorney Megan Bonanni of Pitt McGehee Palmer Bonanni. Is this the attorney?
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Momofakindswimmer
Reply to Be the reason
9 hours ago
Yes!! The attorneys want to know about it all. If you have a story to tell, they want to hear your voice.
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Fifty fifty
2 days ago
Being part of this program was probably one of the worst experiences of my life, the amount of abuse and shame that every single coach caused us was insane, and we all thought that was “normal”, but in reality we just didn’t know better, or at least I didn’t know better for not knowing how college swimming worked… I remember at the time people that loved Lars, said that we (the people that quit the team) were weak, and we were just complaining about their coaching style! Hours and hours of abuse, both mentally and physical (doing 3+ practices in one day because we got punishment for going “too slow”),multiple punishment workouts at 4am before our 6am practice, calling people…Read more »
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Momofakindswimmer
Reply to Fifty fifty
8 hours ago
Tell your story, the lawyers want to hear it.
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Coswimmom
Reply to Fifty fifty
8 hours ago
On my daughter’s official visit I heard how Lars spoke to the swimmers while parents were on deck observing practice. He was not nice and I wondered if that is how he talks to his swimmers with prospective families on deck what is he like when we’re not there?
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Peter
2 days ago
The real issue here should be the fact that One it is not yet proven. Two there is history to support it but why he was defended by not just coaches and administrators but also by swimmers. Three why do people protect individuals like that. Four why colleges do not protect their student-athletes but rather worry about their image and when things come out they either ignore it or they part ways with a problem without addressing it allowing for predators to be hired again. It is all confusing but only if you have a corporate mind set.
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thezwimmer
2 days ago
It seems very clear that Lars had favorites based on many people’s opinions and accounts of him. Is it at all possible that he acted completely different around some people so they would serve as his character witnesses if any allegations ever came to light?
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Catswammer
Reply to thezwimmer
2 days ago
the victims and his “favorites” are one in the same
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It's Jess!
Reply to thezwimmer
1 day ago
Research “grooming”
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About Riley Overend
Riley is an associate editor interested in the stories taking place outside of the pool just as much as the drama between the lane lines.A 2019 graduate of Boston College, he arrived at SwimSwam in April of 2022 after three years as a sports reporter and sports editor at newspapers …
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