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Mike Leach Fired!
I can't believe this. I really thought there would be an investigation and he would be cleared or at most reprimanded. I really hope they have proof that he acted wrongly. This is a very sad day for our football program.
Re: Mike Leach Fired!
On CBSSportsline.com there are lots of letters from current and former players and coaches in support of Leach. Tech is going to have a long road ahead to get over this one. A PR nightmare!! The only one who will end up on top is Leach.
I'm on the other side here (and not because I'm a Husker fan). Maybe you gals know more but I heard he propped one of your players up in an electrical closet for 5+ hours because the kid had a concussion and was wearing sunglasses at practice. He said you want it dark, we'll make it dark for you.
If he DID do that, he absolutely 1000% deserves to be fired. That makes me sick to my stomach. And it's way worse than anything even Mangino thought of doing.
I'm not sure how much you have read on this - but there is no evidence of extreme punishment here. This article talks a little about Leach's methods as well as what allegedly happened with James - http://www.texasmonthly.com/2010-01-01/webextra.php
Here's a quote from the article - "As far as anyone can tell, here is what happened. On December 16, Adam James suffered a mild concussion. Since he could therefore not participate in contact drills, the coaches had him walking the track. The next day he showed up wearing sunglasses, explaining that the doctor said this would help him recover. Leach, apparently thinking that James was exaggerating his injury?though this is not entirely clear?sent him to the team's equipment room to stand in the darkness. (In some accounts this has been described as a ?shed? or a ?closet.? I have been there and seen it, and it is a normal equipment room.) According to the James family?s allegations, Adam was forced to do this for the next two days."
This is a good site to read as well - testimonies about not only Leach's ethical standards but also James' poor work ethic... http://dennis-dodd.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6270202/19238949
Like I've said before - if further information comes out that does show Leach being abusive and everything that has come out thus far is somehow proven false, I will change my mind, but until then, I will stand behind him completely.
Its not an electrical closet - its an equipment shed, that was empty of equipment during the practices.
Exactly. Let the boy wear sunglasses, or get him to get a doctor's note or CALL the doctor yourself if you think he's exaggerating. It's ridiculous that anyone would think that's okay to do to a kid, regardless of his "work ethic".
I am a TTU alum and I am upset by all of this.
If his suspension eventually ended up with him getting fired - fine. If he did do the things some of the articles are suggesting - he deserves to be fired! But we don't know what actually happened. All we know is what people are saying. The fact that it came so quickly is really shady. I think he at least deserved the respect for a full investigation into the allegations.
You bolded the exact right spot - IF he did that. No one has provided ANY proof, and in fact, the opposite is true - everyone involved is coming out saying there was no wrong doing and Adam is exaggerating.
Leach's firing without any investigation and according to everyone BUT the James family, without cause, is in character with the Tech administration's history of being a pile of douchebags. My brother almost transferred out of there when they hired Alberto Gonzalez to teach at the law school, but this may be the last straw for him.
I agree with PP, IF he did this he definitely should be fired, but until something is proven, I think since it hasn't technically been proven a repramand would be appropriate
In retrospect look at Bobby Knight he did some pretty ridiculous things at Indiana too and he was never fired (from what I remember correctly)
My Bio (wedding pics added 7/6)
My 101
This whole situation's been blown way out of proportion. I feel bad for the players - they get to deal with a coach being terminated right before the bowl game. As if playing in a bowl game wasn't distraction enough.
I don't know what Tech was thinking, but now they've got this long, drawn-out investigation to go through in the public eye. That'll be a lot of fun to deal with on their end...and I'm sure it'll affect the football program and recruits. They didn't seem to think about the repercussions of their actions before they went and fired Leach, seems like.
All I know is, this is gonna get uglier than it already has. If Leach did what he's being accussed of doing, adios amigo. If the school had no grounds to fire him, they'd better get ready for a lawsuit.
I find the timing of this slightly suspicious. They fire him the day before he's owed a huge bonus for still being the coach?
I agree that if the allegations prove to be true, then firing is the right course of action. However, nothing has been proven, Leach's statements include the fact that 3 other trainers were with James at the time, and too many players have come out in support of Leach.
Something big is about to drop.
My Bio
Some more proof of the politics and corrupt-ness behind it all... http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/12-09/1231leach.pdf
I think this is going to get a lot uglier before it gets better.
I don't have a lot vested in this, but I do believe that TT had a ton of lawyers working on this and I am sure the move wasn't made without the express consent and belief that they are justified in this firing....Craig James giving an interview on ESPN the other night when he should be keeping his mouth shut didn't make me sympathetic to his son but had the opposite reaction from me (I am a mother and there is a time to speak out and a time to STFU to support your children and this is one of those times).
I found TT Chancellor's interview last night interesting at the half of the Nebraska game http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4783791
also a few players (disgruntled or not I couldn't tell you) speaking in support of the schools decision as well: http://sportsbybrooks.com/texas-tech-player-no-complaints-leach-is-gone-27510
ETA: James is apparently giving an interview on Sportscenter today AND addressing it during another game he is calling? Nothing like free press when you work for the station huh?
This, 100%. Craig James is coming off as a little league dad. It's not becoming.
I've been watching ESPN most of last night and this morning and they were showing pictures of the shed and video of the electrical closet. Even if he was in there with 3-4 trainers I gotta be honest ladies, it still isn't right. I understand work ethic and whatnot but there are better ways to address it.
I guess Leach has previously left a bad taste in my mouth, so maybe I'm a little too polarized on this issue, but I think there was good reason to fire him, and it wasn't just this incident.
So, explain this to me as someone who doesn't follow college football at all.
Supposedly the kid had a concussion. But I saw conflicting reports as to whether this kid was put in the "closet" before or after the concusion.
I also saw his dad on ESPN. When DH and I watched it, DH said, "If a bunch of the kids are pissed off at the coach, now is the time for them to say something and get him fired." I said, "On the flip side, even if he didn't do anything wrong, a bunch of kids could say whatever they want and he could get fired."
And I don't mean to sound unfeeling, but what's the big deal about being put in a dark room/closet/building for a few hours? It's not like they refused to give him food, worked him out without water, choked/assaulted him.
What am I missing here?
Our little Irish rose came to us on March 5, 2010
Don't drink the water.
Disclaimer: I am not an MD. Please don't PM me with pregnancy-related questions. Ask your doctor.
You're not missing anything Dr. Loretta - that's the point. The kid is a punk and the administration has been looking for a reason to get rid of Leach because he's not a West Texas good-ole-boy and doesn't get along with them. It's all politics and money.
Agreed. Apparently, Craig James was a huge PITA. I'm sure it wasn't a coincindence that this happened to his son. I wouldn't be surprised if Leach did what he did just to piss him off.
Way late to this, but...
In my eyes, it doesn't matter WHAT the punishment was...it's that he was punished for being injured. If he made the guy write "I will not get hit in the head" 100 times on a chalkboard, it'd still be wrong. You don't punish an injured player, period. That's how you end up with players who don't report injuries and then end up in worse shape.
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