OT: Washington State Player Leaves Program, Alleges Abuse by Staff
WSU receiver Marquess Wilson, who was suspended by the team for the standard "violation of team rules" is asserting this is a lie and that he has left the Cougars due to abuse by the coaching staff.
"My teammates and I have endured this treatment all season long. It is not “tough love.” It is abuse. This abuse cannot be allowed to continue. I feel it is my duty to stand up and shed light on this situation by sacrificing my drams(sic), my education and my pride. I resign from this team. I am deeply sorry to those I am letting down. I am not a quitter. I was raised by my family, and many previous coaches to exhibit dedication and embrace sacrifice, but there comes a time when one has to draw a line in the sand."
There are no specifics provided, but given similar allegations against Mike Leach in the past, the allegations will be examined closely.
November 10th, 2012 at 8:59 PM ^
When I read it, it looks like it says, "Those mean men wanted me to lift weights and yelled at me when I didn't! WHAA!"
November 10th, 2012 at 8:59 PM ^
/s
November 10th, 2012 at 9:00 PM ^
Given Mike Leach's alleged past.*
November 10th, 2012 at 9:02 PM ^
Fair enough, I've edited the post.
November 10th, 2012 at 9:38 PM ^
Technically you can say "past" and still be correct. Whether he did or didn't mistreat players at Texas Tech doesn't change that there was smoke around his name and therefore because of this "past" this is likely to be looked at closely.
November 10th, 2012 at 9:01 PM ^
November 10th, 2012 at 10:32 PM ^
that killed all those hookers? maybe a connection there somewhere...
November 10th, 2012 at 9:02 PM ^
Justin Boren left because of the "lack of family values," and Kurt Wermers left because of the thuggish players MIchigan was bringing in.
November 10th, 2012 at 9:06 PM ^
I'm not making a judgement either way, but it's going to be a news item this week. My wording in the last sentence was poor, so I've edited it.
November 10th, 2012 at 9:16 PM ^
I wasn't saying you were drawing judgments. I just wanted to remind people that there are often two sides to these stories... and the last thing people want is to end up on the Craig James side of things.
November 10th, 2012 at 10:12 PM ^
November 10th, 2012 at 11:25 PM ^
Night made. Thank you.
November 10th, 2012 at 9:05 PM ^
Leach does seem a little harsh this season, but his team is a massive disappointment and he was never the friendliest. I'm gonna chalk this up to a tough transition to an authoritarian coach unless some other evidence is brought forward.
November 10th, 2012 at 9:10 PM ^
November 10th, 2012 at 9:14 PM ^
November 10th, 2012 at 9:18 PM ^
I'm not buying Wilson's story. He's a junior. I liken him to the same dudes who quit on Rodriguez for swearing at them and dogging them in practice. None of the current players on this WSU team know about winning or practicing hard. Prior to Leach's arrive, WSU won 8 games over the previous 4 years.
November 10th, 2012 at 9:21 PM ^
I know he's much beloved by a large segment of fans, but there's a reason Mike Leach had to beg for interviews during his time at TTU and it has nothing to do with Craig James since the situation long pre-dated that incident.
November 10th, 2012 at 10:17 PM ^
The fact it took him so long to get another job is very very telling. He's a head case.
November 10th, 2012 at 11:04 PM ^
That's not what I mean--that could be explained just by the fact that he'd threatened his former employer with a wrongful termination suit. That was bound to scare people off no matter what else might have been going on.
It's the weirdness in the years before that I'm referring to--the calls from his agent to other schools trying, rather desperately, to arrange interviews. With only one taker ever, apparently (Washington), even when the agent said Leach would pay his own expenses. The weird "interview" with Miami in a hotel lobby that he tried to use as leverage when his contract was coming up for renewal.
He went nearly a decade at TTU and was probably the most successful coach they ever had, yet he was never seriously considered for a job elsewhere even though his agent was aggressively approaching other schools, and even though the head job at his prior school, where he'd been OC, came open twice during that time.
Doesn't that strike anyone else as odd?
November 10th, 2012 at 9:24 PM ^
Leach has been pretty tough this year, calling his team "walking dead" & saying they play like zombies.
It's a tough job to change a losing culture like WSU. Leach is definitely raising the bar & splitting the fan base.
I find it funny that Wilson said he's not a quitter but quit the team. I was thinking he should transfer to UM. We could use another receiver.
After hearing more about it, I think Leach should get the benefit of the doubt.
November 10th, 2012 at 10:15 PM ^
Leach sounds like a Mangino wanna be.
Lots of people act like a-holes when they think they're being tough. Sounds like Leach is one.
November 11th, 2012 at 2:02 AM ^
I find Mike Leach in general odd. The guy has a pirate fetish for goodness sake. Listening to him talk is just kind of creepy. I wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't killed a few hookers himself to be honest with you, and I mean that with all due respect. He's the kind of guy you don't mind rooting for when he's coaching someone else because he's kind of quarky and nerdy like your weird uncle that you had when you were growing up, but you don't really want him running your football program.
November 10th, 2012 at 9:27 PM ^
Regardless of the truth in this situation, I think we should take this time to step back and remember the 5.
November 10th, 2012 at 9:39 PM ^
November 10th, 2012 at 9:53 PM ^
Pretty sure Leach is a nutjob.
November 10th, 2012 at 10:02 PM ^
November 10th, 2012 at 10:07 PM ^
November 10th, 2012 at 10:09 PM ^
dude is insane.. i would never mess with a dude who has a habit of killing hookers..Fuck That
November 10th, 2012 at 10:20 PM ^
November 10th, 2012 at 10:22 PM ^
There was an article on Yahoo! Sports published just before all this came into light about how ...well.... reportedly unsupportive Leach has been of the Cougars at times. Here is the link. CougFan.com has been keeping track of some of the comments apparently. Since it seems that some of the quotes were taken from fansites in the article, obviously it is to be taken with some skepticism...
Regarding his offensive line, for example:
"Our five couldn't whip their two," Leach said, according to CougFan.com. "Sometimes they only brought two. Our five couldn't whip their two. Which means, if five of our guys went in an alley and got in a fight with two of theirs, we would have gotten massacred. That's just ridiculously inexcusable. It was one of the most heartless efforts up front I've seen; and our defensive line wasn't any better."
I will say, however, that Mike Leach is a radical departure from what Washington State has been and, if you're going from 20 years of .500-ish performance to the doldrums of Paul Wulff and then Mike Leach, dramatic departures were likely in order for a few people anyway. Without knowing much more, this seems like it is a multi-dimensional tale of cultural change on the surface. It will be interesting to see if the athletic department or school has any kind of statement in time.
November 11th, 2012 at 1:26 AM ^
I was going to post that link. It's a good article. Kind of tells the other side of the story. Lot's of people jump to conclusions when something like this comes out.
November 10th, 2012 at 10:55 PM ^
Craig James was the best thing that could have happened to Mike Leach. People are expected to take sides in a situation and it's impossible to be on the side of someone at the same time so offensive and so obviously in the wrong as James. That, I suppose, means you have to be on the side of Leach. If it's necessary to be on a side at all.
But what I remember from the various revelations at the time--remember the leaked e-mails about his contract negotations?--was that absolutely everyone involved looked terrible. The AD, Leach, the important boosters--it was an embarrassing clusterfuck of unprofessional behavior and seemed to have been for years, and that was before James stepped in and lowered the bar even further.
November 10th, 2012 at 10:55 PM ^
Maybe this, maybe that.
Too much bs drama nowadays. Hope this is what it seems at face value. Bitter player, no nonsense coach. Worst case, Leach has too much pirate in him after all.
November 10th, 2012 at 10:55 PM ^
Mike Leach is a good coach, albeit unconventional. This just sounds like sour grapes to me. If I was a middling BCS program I'd love to have him as a coach because he doesn't need top flight talent to succeed. His upside for WSU is big and I expect them to shake the PAC 12 up in 2 years time.
November 10th, 2012 at 11:23 PM ^
November 10th, 2012 at 11:28 PM ^
Possibly because he's a whiny quitter and Leach had halfway booted him to the curb already and Wilson is a vengeful 20 year old? Seems more likely he'd want to take a parting shot than it is that Leach is abusing people.
November 10th, 2012 at 11:35 PM ^
November 10th, 2012 at 11:53 PM ^
November 11th, 2012 at 12:05 AM ^
November 11th, 2012 at 7:48 AM ^
November 10th, 2012 at 11:49 PM ^
What a money quote from him..."I'm not a quitter." Yeah dude, you are. You are quitting the team and setting fire to it before you leave.
Not that Leach is innocent or anything. This is just about to explode.
November 10th, 2012 at 11:49 PM ^
has sucked for most of my 40+ years of life.
November 11th, 2012 at 12:32 AM ^
Michigan fans know that new regimes always have detractors, and that's part of the deal. While this is an interesting story right now, that's all it is: a story.
Am I interested? I guess. But only if there's proof that something that's illegal, unethical, or out-of-line has been done.
November 11th, 2012 at 12:32 AM ^
Michigan fans know that new regimes always have detractors, and that's part of the deal. While this is an interesting story right now, that's all it is: a story.
Am I interested? I guess. But only if there's proof that something that's illegal, unethical, or out-of-line has been done.
November 11th, 2012 at 1:06 AM ^
There is no way Leach would actually do anything that could be interpreted as "abuse," becuase of what was done to him by the James family. OTOH, if somebody is too lazy and entitled to take being coached, he might as well throw something like this against the wall and hope it sticks.
I mean, that is how things are done in this era, correct? Fire off accusations and hope for a viral pity party?
Here's part of his "statement:"
I realize the school is saying that I am suspended for violating team policies and may return next week, but this is a lie. This is an attempt by the athletic department to cover up what is really happening in that locker room.
November 11th, 2012 at 1:32 AM ^
If you're interested in this story...have a look at this article by a WSU beat writer.
http://www.cougcenter.com/wsu-cougars-football/2012/11/10/3629290/marqu…;
November 11th, 2012 at 7:16 AM ^
doesn't mean Leach isn't a dumbass, too. Glad we've got a coach who would never denigrate our kids like that. I don't really see that it makes your d*ck bigger to come on and shout that the kids are p*ssies every time charges like this come up. We all know there's a fair amount of abuse out there.
November 11th, 2012 at 7:52 AM ^
Seems like everybody on this thread, with VERY little info, is already jumping to conclusions, with most leaning against the student and pro Mike Leach. Usually you get more thoughtful commentary on mgoblog...
November 11th, 2012 at 9:24 AM ^
I read Leach's book, and i think the dude is brilliant. He certainly pushes his players, and there are certainly ones that don't like or want the push. He is building a culture of toughness. That requires discipline and work. That is never pleasant at the time, but pays off down the line.
My guess is that things got a little too hot for Wilson. Abuse though? Thats offensive to those that had suffered or experienced real abuse.