He is known to be a bit eccentric and very much a wildcard, but his decision to discipline the son of a high-profile broadcaster was possibly the worst choice of his life by Texas Tech coach Mike Leach. Reports vary as to what actually happened at workouts while the Red Raiders prepared for their bowl game, but it seems apparent that Leach gave the school's administration just the excuse it was looking for to throw him out on the street.
Adam James Diagnosed With a Concussion
Texas Tech receiver Adam James, having been diagnosed with a concussion sustained in practice, was apparently less than professional in his approach at the next practice, and rather than have him hanging out on the field, Leach is reported to have relegated him to a shed adjacent to the practice field.
Two days later, the situation was apparently repeated, and this time the player was confined to a room that is often used as a media room by visiting teams. Some reports had James being stuffed in an electrical closet, but more of the follow-up work seemes to support the fact that the receiver was placed in a room, but not inside the electrical closet that was inside the room.
With players and coaches coming out in support of both the coach and the player in this dispute, it is hard to know how much of each story provides the full details, but it seems clear that an egotistical coach butted heads with a somewhat lazy player. James was not being punished for having a concussion, but it seems that his injury was not being treated appropriately.
Football Discipline is a Common Thing
While the man on the street might certainly find this punishment reprehensible, what would he say about having a player run hours of stairs as punishment, or run long sprints in more than 100-degree heat. Football coaches are known for their over-the-top approach to discipline, and for the most part, players are expected to take it. Usually they do, but not in this case.
If this had been the first time Leach had done something like this, it is unlikely that it would have resulted in termination, but clearly the university saw this as the last straw, especially with the publicity that came because of the involvement of the son of ESPN college football analyst Craig James.
Should Craig James Have Gone to Leach First?
Craig James has been up front in his insistence that his only intent in the way this situation was handled was to protect his son, but the facts would seem to differ from that story. Why did James go to the Texas Tech administration instead of addressing this with Coach Leach? Would the parent of a different player have had the same success trying to get that kind of meeting?
One could make the case that James took the course he did because he knew the way the administration felt about Leach, who they had signed to a contract extension to avoid dealing with the fans who love his amazing success. There was clearly a significant level of acrimony still there over that negotiation.
By going to the administration, James essentially ensured that Leach would be fired, which was likely his goal all along.
Mike Leach and the Bobby Knight Irony
It would be much easier to take the administration at Texas Tech seriously in their claims of protecting the defenseless student athletes in their charge if not for the whole Bobby Knight situation. This is the same university that hired the basketball coach who is most known with player abuse during his years at Indiana. Choking players, throwing chairs, assaulting office staffers were all apparently insignificant offenses when compares to the recent offenses of Mike Leach.
Or is this instead just what it appears to be - a university unhappy with the contract it felt compelled to negotiate with a coach it did not like and a coach who felt so strongly that he could do whatever he wanted to do without consequence? In the end, Leach gave his superiors just the ammunition they needed to send him packing, and there are no winners in this scenario.
Kurt Johnson - Kurt Johnson is a freelance writer based in Sacramento, Calif. With a degree in communications and a background in business management and ...
