Les Miles files lawsuit against LSU over school vacating his wins while coach

According to On3’s Pete Nakos, former LSU football coach Les Miles is suing the school over losses they vacated during his tenure which have impacted his ability to make the College Football Hall of Fame.

Nakos tweeted out the news Monday morning, writing: “In a complaint filed against LSU, Les Miles challenges the decision to vacate wins cost him a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame. He calls on the court to declare him eligible for CFBHOF and declare the vacated wins be considered wins so he’s eligible for nomination.”

The issue for Miles, a Hall of Fame hopeful, is that the Hall requires a career .600% winning percentage, and the vacated wins announced last summer officially dipped him to a paltry .03 percentage points away from that figure at .597%.

The lawsuit accuses LSU of taking action and vacating the wins prematurely, before Miles could stand his ground and make a case.

“Defendants stripped Les Miles — indisputably one of the most esteemed college football coaches in the history of the State of Louisiana — of his established eligibility for the College Football Hall of Fame without an opportunity to be heard,” it states.

“Les Miles now seeks appropriate remedy for the blot placed on his good name and reputation when Defendants deprived him of his Hall of Fame eligibility without due process.”

Of course, LSU vacated the 37 wins under Miles when the NCAA uncovered an embezzlement scheme and was looking to punish the Tigers. However, Miles believes there should have been more of a fight for those wins, rather than allowing them to be stripped away.

The Miles lawsuit also cites a 1971 Supreme Court decision in the very first sentence in reference to his own battle:

“Where a person’s good name, reputation, honor, or integrity is at stake because of
what the government is doing to him, notice and an opportunity to be heard are essential,” read the quote.

It’s from a case called Wisconsin v. Constantineau, where one lady from Hartford, WI sued the state after law enforcement posted a public placard informing the city that she was banned from being sold alcohol for one year. Constantineau argued that she should receive notice and a chance to speak on her behalf before such a stigmatizing action was taken against her by the government.

Going all the way to the Supreme Court, Norma Grace Constantineau won her case.

So, that’s where the Les Miles lawsuit starts. As for where it ends, he’s just hoping to get back enough wins to rejoin the circle of consideration for the College Football Hall of Fame. After all, if the wins were not vacated, it’s very easy to see Miles getting in after his incredible run at LSU which included a national championship in 2007.