The U.S. Center for SafeSport has ruled former University of Kentucky swim coach Lars Jorgensen permanently ineligible to coach following a lawsuit by a former student-athlete and assistant coach, multiple complaints of misconduct to UK, and an NCAA violation that resulted in his suspension and a $75,000 settlement.
According to Spectrum News, Jorgensen was cited as “having an intimate relationship specifically involving a power imbalance; physical misconduct; retaliation; sexual harassment; sexual misconduct.”
The SafeSport ruling will apply to all sports, not just swimming, as Jorgensen has also been involved with the U.S. Tennis Association.
The former student-athlete and assistant coach brought their lawsuit to Jorgensen and athletic director Mitch Barnhart back in 2024. At the time, the women claimed UK had “purposefully disregarded multiple credible reports of inappropriate sexual relationships.”
Spectrum News reported the women “spent years being groomed by him,” and the experience escalated at a December 2013 Christmas party when Jorgensen assaulted then assistant coach, Briggs Alexander.
According to A Sea of Blue, when Jorgensen resigned in 2023 amid the NCAA violations, he was initially accused of violating rules regarding practice hours and harsh training conditions. The allegations of sexual assault and abuse then surfaced.
When the lawsuit was first filed in 2024, Jorgensen denied all the allegations. The Wildcats' athletic department released a statement at the time, saying, “Our Athletics Department takes those issues and those policies very seriously as the welfare and well-being of all of our employees and students is a priority. In such cases, a victim or complainant is reached out to a number of times during the course of a review. It is entirely up to the victim or complainant to decide whether they want to participate in such a review or not. Part of ensuring the well-being of our people is giving them the opportunity to decide whether they want to participate in an investigation of this kind.”
Jorgensen’s federal trial for the sexual misconduct is set to take place in June, 2026.
