Daren,
I can’t say if ESPN has handled the Mike Leach story as fairly as it could because I’ve spent far too much time in my car listening to the network over the past few days. And I have heard several of the hosts include statements and sound bites from players who defended the coach and suggesting that Adam James was a prima donna with a father who was a “helicopter dad,” hovering around the football program more than was warranted.
That said, here are the guidelines Leach was expected to abide by and reportedly refused to accept.
Among them,
Any player claiming an injury will be examined by a physician and cleared in writing prior to practicing or playing. Decisions regarding whether an injury warrants suspension from practice and/or play will be determined by a physician without pressure from you or your staff
and
There will be no retaliation against any student who has suffered an injury
don’t sound very onerous to me. In fact, they would appear to be the sort of commonsense guidelines that would not only protect the welfare of the players but also insulate the university from potentially serious legal consequences.
Then there’s this, from USA Today’s Christine Brennan:
On Dec. 17, the day James was diagnosed with a concussion, he said Leach told trainers to put him in an equipment shed near the practice field, where a member of the athletic staff checked on him to make sure he did not lean against anything or sit on the floor. James said Leach told him if he came out, he’d be kicked off the team.
Then, on Dec. 19, James said Leach put him in an electrical closet inside the football stadium, but the buzz was so loud, he was moved to a press room where the furniture was removed and he was told not to sit, the AP reported.
[SNIP]
There’s another side to the story, one that includes Leach’s lawyer saying that his client was putting James “in a safer environment by being inside,” and that Craig James, who originally called the school to complain about Leach’s actions, was retaliating against the coach because he wanted more playing time for his son. Others were quoted as saying Adam James was a bad influence on his teammates.
In all this coverage, from many sources, both the Leach and the James camps have agreed on several facts — not allegations, facts:
Adam James was diagnosed with a mild concussion.
When team doctors would not allow James to practice Dec. 17, Leach ordered him into the equipment shed, rather than keeping him in the training room.
On Dec. 19, Leach repeated the process, only this time assigning James to the electrical closet.
If Adam James was a problem, Leach could have benched him or kicked him off the team. Not lock him up. (Could Leach be charged with false imprisonment?) Texas Tech may have made a monumental error by firing Leach when he sued the university. But I’d hate to be Mike Leach’s defense attorney.
