Mildly OT-Leach Facebook Group (SIAP)
Schadenfreude, thy name is Texas Tech. It seems that Red Raider Nation is getting a little defensive, as this facebook group has reached nearly 13,000 members:
http://www.facebook.com/#/group.php?gid=233352393576&ref=nf
According to the front page:
Supposedly [Adam James] had a mild concussion and was "locked" in the equipment room. But I'm sure Leach just made him stay inside during practice for one day because he had doctors orders to wear sunglasses... which you cant really wear while suited up for practice
Please tell me that if RichRod was accused of this kind of mistreatment, we would be a little more rational.
December 29th, 2009 at 11:59 PM ^
..but the freep certainly wouldn't. And you never know which way the administration would go.
December 30th, 2009 at 12:01 AM ^
Anyone find it unprofessional from ESPN allowing Craig James a platform during CFL? I don't know about this situation, but it just sounds to weird to be true and wish it would go away.
December 30th, 2009 at 12:09 AM ^
it's as valid as interviewing any individual involved in a situation. it would be unprofessional for him to discuss it on the 2nd during the MSU/TT game. that's why he has been shuffled to a different commentary slot.
December 30th, 2009 at 12:29 AM ^
anything Craig James has to say is hearsay, the only people that know anything are on the TTU football team. I feel like he should keep his yap closed because he only knows what his son has told him.
December 30th, 2009 at 12:33 AM ^
as he is reported to be the whistle-blower, not his son. he was the one who directly contacted the administration and reported his son's treatment. as such as he is primarily involved and would be relevant. also hearsay would be involved in his repeating of the allegation and not what he's been "interviewed" about or discussing, which is what he contacted TT about.
December 30th, 2009 at 12:44 AM ^
I agree with you there, all I'm saying his Craig James only knows what his son has told him,I've bent the truth to my parents before. And as more information comes out this appears to be what James the younger did. I think this whole situation is bogus, as TT should have kept this behind closed doors and conducted an internal investigation.
disclaimer in tiny print: I believe Leach and his Inside WR's coach. On a side note do we have a coach just for our slot ninjas?
December 30th, 2009 at 12:54 AM ^
my point is that since he is the one who contacted the administration, he is directly involved and worthy of commentary. he's not mark dell sr. because he got directly involved and made the allegation he is an interviewable source. further, since he's a 'legend,' he has a perspective. i'm not saying any of it's valid. all i'm saying is he's just as valid as an administrator being asked to comment on the situation. unless you're saying the only people who should be on tv discussing the situation are the player and the coach, in which case i would likely agree in the perfect world paradigm yet disagree for the i'vetypedwaytoomuchonthistopicandamgoingtobed paradigm.
December 30th, 2009 at 12:11 AM ^
I don't think James should call the game.
I don't know if it's unethical, but it would distract attention from the proper focus. This game is about a pure demonstration of athletic competition between two teams: one team that locks its players in closets when they get hurt, and another team that left half of its players home for the bowl game (and by "home," I mean Ingham County Jail).
December 30th, 2009 at 12:38 AM ^
that's already not an issue
Craig James, the player's father, will also no longer announce the game on Saturday, following the allegations, according to an ESPN spokeswoman.http://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-tech-university-football-coach-mike-leac…
December 30th, 2009 at 12:24 AM ^
Was I the only one who read "CFL" and wondered what this had to do with the Canadian Football League?
December 30th, 2009 at 12:31 AM ^
I did think that some might think that, but I'm tired and didn't especially feel like writing out College Football Live.
December 30th, 2009 at 12:48 AM ^
Not when they presented the other side during OTL with Leach's lawyer basically given free time to talk about it.
December 30th, 2009 at 12:03 AM ^
I read that James was supposed to call this game, has anyone heard that he has been removed because that would be incredibly akward for him and would also take the whole nonpartisan approach out of the game
December 30th, 2009 at 12:39 AM ^
he has been shuffled away per recent news pieces on this issue
Craig James, the player's father, will also no longer announce the game on Saturday, following the allegations, according to an ESPN spokeswoman.
December 30th, 2009 at 12:32 AM ^
Blue in South Bend I think I'm in your corner. I sincerely hope that the Michigan fanbase would not defend RR if these kind of acquisitions were made inside our program. In fact I'm fairly certain they wouldn't defend this. Logical individuals should be able to see that a concussion sunglasses order ≠ forcing a kid to stand in a dark room alone for 3 hours.
It should be interesting to see how things play out with the court case tomorrow. Can anyone else name a season where so many coaches have been accused of mistreatment of their players, starting with the Freep article (Mangino, Leach, Leavitt)?
December 30th, 2009 at 12:47 AM ^
I agree re: the season and coaches. However, call me crazy, but I don't think we know enough about this situation to say anything definitive. It does sound bad, though. And...yeah- that's kind of bullshit, really, if how it is being portrayed in the media is truly how the situation unfolded. It's just my opinion, though, that generally most controversial situations like this one involve more nuance than "Coach BAD, Player VICTIM."
All of that being said, though, the facebook group sounds really stupid.
December 30th, 2009 at 12:50 AM ^
There is some history with these two parties though as the TTU administration has acted as if they are not fully behind him in the past.
December 30th, 2009 at 12:51 AM ^
Mike Leach is a pirate and if he locks you in a closet you'd better fucking stay there
December 30th, 2009 at 1:45 AM ^
After watching many of his post-game interviews over the past year, I always thought that Leach was just a quirky guy that has no "that quote is inappropriate no matter how hilarious you think it is" filter. At any other program he would have been run out of town for some of the things he says, but the fans here seem to embrace him for it. I have to admit, I thought it was refreshing to see a coach that was unafraid to speak his mind, even though he had quite a few facepalm moments at the podium. If these allegations are true though (and it sounds like there is some credibility to them), this gives him a violent shove from quirky to crazy, and I think he would probably get shown the door.
December 30th, 2009 at 8:24 AM ^
...shall be measured was set by Bob Knight. That pretty much says it.
December 30th, 2009 at 4:28 AM ^
Two preliminary notes:
1. Mike Leach has led Texas Tech to more success than any other coach in their school's history.
2. Just before the Leach story broke, we saw the Jim Leavitt case, in which an allegation of abuse that looked like it might destroy his career decayed into nothing.
It seems safe to say that these factors are leading Texas Tech fans to defend their coach more than they would otherwise, especially when we don't actually know what happened in the case.
Anyway, as far as rationality goes, I'd be willing to bet that Michigan would be less defensive of Rodriguez than Texas Tech because Rodriguez's performance as coach thus far has been disappointing. However, if these allegations were made about, say, Bo Schembechler, I'm willing to bet that a large portion of the fanbase would defend him unless there was overwhelming evidence of misconduct.
December 30th, 2009 at 9:40 AM ^
Right now, we don't have enough information to convict and fire Mike Leach, like the media would like people to believe.
Right now, this is just 1 kid speaking badly about his coach, which we are all too familiar with.
The correct course of action would be for TT to investigate further and interview the players at these practices and get their take. TT can also interview other coaches, media personnel... that may have attended these practices. In addition, Mike Leach likely has hundreds of former players and if he did this before, James is likely not the first "victim".
Let's not convict and suspend a person without some due process.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/bowls09/news/story?id=4779341
"He wrote "absolutely" no evidence had been given to him that showed he had violated any university rules or standards."
Maybe James = Boren?
December 30th, 2009 at 11:00 AM ^
I just got back from my in-laws who live in Texas. Their local paper was making a big deal out of it. The way they said it was that the doctor said he had a mild concussion and was good enough to participate in non-contact activities. When Leach asked him to run he said his head hurt and couldn't. Leach asked him again and he still refused. A that point Leach asked the team doctor what the best thing was for a person with a concussion and he said to be in a cool dark room and he picked an air conditioned electrical closet.
I played football and this really doesn't seem that bad. The kid wasn't injured, wasn't put in danger, and wasn't forced to do anything against doctor's orders. It also sounds like Leach and some of the administration don't get along and they may have been looking for a reason to get rid of him, which IMHE is a HUGE mistake because he's a great coach.