Report: LSU's general counsel responds to Will Wade's statement

LSU basketball coach Will Wade released his first public statement since being suspended by the school earlier this month, quickly drawing a response from Tom Skinner, LSU's general counsel, according to Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger.

"“In everything that’s been said by Will and his folks in the past week, not once have they denied any wrongdoing,” says Skinner. "As a university and employer, we need to hear our employee say, ‘I didn’t do anything wrong,’ or explain the circumstances or admit he did do something wrong. We’ve been unable to get to that point. We have no choice, in terms of institutional control, to not suspend someone.”

Skinner's defense of LSU's decision was given shortly after Sports Illustrated released Wade's public request for reinstatement released earlier in the day. In Wade's statement, he pleaded not rush to judgement.

"I understand that in today's hyper-intense media environment it is extremely difficult for any organization, particularly a public university, to stand firm in the face of rumors, leaks and innuendo,"

Wade also took the stance that his legal counsel advised him not to speak with LSU administrators, even invoking his freedom of speech.

"In this case, the simple truth is I have been placed on leave because I exercised my right not to submit to a join LSU/NCAA interview on the exact same subject matter at issue in an impeding federal criminal trial in New York," Wade said on Thursday. "My legal counsel advised the University that it would be wholly inappropriate for me, or anyone, to submit to an interview under these circumstances."