University Employee Faces Allegations of Sexual Misconduct

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Washington State University employee and former star quarterback Jason Gesser was placed on home assignment Monday following a new complaint of sexual misconduct.

Gesser will work from home pending an investigation of the allegation, the university's President Kirk Schulz and Director of Athletics Pat Chun said in a joint statement.

"This is new information and a different set of events than previously reported," said Kimberly Anderson, director of WSU's Office for Equal Opportunity.

Details of the misconduct were not released.

Schulz and Chun said this is the first time an individual directly involved in an alleged incident of sexual misconduct has filed a formal complaint against Gesser.

Gesser did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The university newspaper The Daily Evergreen reported last week that it had obtained hundreds of pages of public records involving allegations of sexual harassment against Gesser, some dating back to 2014. The allegations include that he made advances on student interns and co-workers, some as recently as 2017.

The university said it launched an investigation of the past allegations after officials became aware of them in December.

Officials interviewed or attempted to interview all those involved and found no violations of school policy, the school said.

Gesser, who is married with three children, also issued a statement last week saying the past allegations were without merit and said he would "not allow my name to be unfairly smeared."

Gesser, 39, is an assistant director for the Cougar Athletic Fund, which raises money for WSU sports teams.

As a quarterback, he led the Cougars to the 2003 Rose Bowl and then embarked on a college coaching career after spending one season with the Tennessee Titans. He returned to work at WSU in 2013.