Two former Kentucky swimmers filed a lawsuit against the school, its athletic director and former swim coach Lars Jorgensen on Friday, claiming the coach sexually assaulted them — including an allegation of rape — and that the university ignored warnings about his alleged inappropriate behavior toward women.
The lawsuit states that Jorgensen “forcibly raped” former Kentucky swimmer Briggs Alexander, who was a graduate student at the time of the first alleged assault and, later, an assistant coach for the team. Another unnamed former swimmer claims Jorgensen groped, harassed and attempted to have sex with her in 2022 while she was an assistant coach. The lawsuit also details an allegation made by a third unnamed woman who is not a plaintiff and who says Jorgensen “forcibly raped” her in 2013 during his first year as the team’s head coach.
Jorgensen did not respond to a phone call from ESPN. He told The Athletic, which first reported Friday’s lawsuit, that none of the allegations against him are true.
Jay Blanton, a university spokesperson, said the school takes any allegations of misconduct “very seriously” but does not “discuss specific…
