Story Courtesy ESPN.COM...
LUBBOCK, Texas -- Texas Tech suspended coach Mike Leach indefinitely after a player and his family filed a complaint about the player's treatment after an injury.
The school said in a release Monday defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill will be the interim coach and lead the team in the Valero Alamo Bowl on Jan. 2 against Michigan State. McNeill will remain in charge of the team until the investigation is complete.
The player, Adam James, is a redshirt sophomore wide receiver for the Red Raiders and the son of ESPN college football analyst Craig James.
A source close to the family said James sustained a concussion on Dec. 16, was examined on Dec. 17 and told not to practice because of the concussion and an elevated heart rate. The source said Leach called a trainer and directed him to move James "to the darkest place, to clean out the equipment and to make sure that he could not sit or lean. He was confined for three hours."
A source told The Associated Press that James said Leach told him if he came out, he would be kicked off the team.
According to the source, Leach told the trainer, two days later, to "put [James] in the darkest, tightest spot. It was in an electrical closet, again, with a guard posted outside."
An attorney for Leach said that while James was secluded twice, the circumstances were not as portrayed in that account.
Ted Liggett, Leach's attorney, said James "was placed in an equipment room as it was much cooler and darker" than the practice field "after a doctor had examined him and returned him to the field."
Liggett said that on that day, a trainer was posted outside the room and that James was provided ice. Liggett said that James was secluded for one to two hours.
Liggett said that on another occasion, James was placed in a "press room with air-conditioning and a stationary bike he could use."
Liggett also said Leach placed James in those environments because "Mike tries to keep the players that are unable to practice as close as he can."
Liggett said he will "soon begin" legal steps to overturn Texas Tech's suspension and allow Leach to coach the Alamo Bowl.
The family released a statement Monday explaining why they filed the complaint but refusing to speculate or provide additional information out of respect for the investigation.
"Mr. and Mrs. James took the step with great regret and after consideration and prayer to convey to the Texas Tech administration that their son had been subjected to actions and treatment not consistent with common sense rules for safety and health," the statement read.
The statement went on to say the family felt the matter was important to "protect all the fine young men involved in Tech football and the University's reputation for developing and educating young men and women.
"Over the past year, there has been a greatly enhanced recognition of the dangers of concussions and the potential for long term physical damage to players. At virtually every level of football coaching, cases where children and young men have sustained concussions have generated serious discussion of the importance of correct treatment and diagnosis."
Craig James was scheduled to announce the Alamo Bowl. ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said James no longer will work the game.
The Red Raiders was 8-4 this season.
McNeill declined to answer questions about the incident after Monday night's practice in San Antonio. Players were not made available to the media.
"Mike's my friend, we've been friends for a long time, and I don't think right now is the right time to go into that," McNeill said to reporters after practice.
He said Leach arrived with the team in San Antonio and that Adam James also was with the team but not practicing.
McNeill said he was told around 3:30 p.m. that he was taking over for Leach, then told the players about a half-hour later.
"They were probably a little shocked, but at the same time, they did a good job of coming on the field and doing what I asked them to do. I was proud of that," McNeill said after practice.
Leach did not immediately return a call or a text message from The Associated Press seeking comment.
There's been internal strife this season with the Red Raiders and Leach has resorted to some tongue-lashing.
He chastised players after a loss to Texas A&M in October for listening to "their fat little girlfriends," and thinking the Aggies were a pushover. And after the Red Raiders' loss at then-No. 12 Houston in September, Leach suspended starting offensive lineman Brandon Carter indefinitely for violating team rules.
The loss to the Cougars was the second straight for the Red Raiders, who had fallen 34-24 at No. 2 Texas in an early Big 12 matchup. This season is the first since 2002 -- Leach's third season -- that the Red Raiders dropped two of their first four games.
That same week Leach banned his players from having Twitter pages after linebacker Marlon Williams asked on his account why he was still in a meeting room when "the head coach can't even be on time."
In February, Leach and Tech agreed to a five-year, $12.7 million deal that could keep him at the school through 2013.
The contract includes a $250,000 bonus if Leach and Tech win the national championship, a $75,000 bonus if Tech participates in a BCS bowl and a $50,000 bonus if Leach is picked as national coach of the year
If Tech terminates the contract, the school must pay Leach $400,000 for each year remaining on the agreement. There is no buyout amount.
I generally support most anything Mike Leach does. I think he’s a pretty funny guy, his press conferences are pure gold, and he’s a pretty damn good coach. When it comes down to it this guy is one of the most entertaining figures in college football, both for his high flying pass happy offensive attack , and what he says in the press room before and after games. But, C’MON man… You can’t be locking kids in closets. I know Leach is stubborn, and it’s his way or the highway, and I respect that out of a coach, players need to know who’s in charge… but treating a player like he’s a POW in Vietnam is not the best method to get your point across—especially if the player happens to be the son of a college football legend, and the last white man to have a 1,000 yard rushing season in the NFL.
Sometimes when you hear Mike Leach speak you start to wonder—is this man crazy? I mean his material can rival any standup comic going right now, but most of the time what Leach says is pretty out there. I think this might affirm the notion that Leach should be in a room with padded walls. Clearly something is wrong with Leach if he can run this scenario through his head and come to a conclusion that’s its OK to lock a player in a closet. Any rational thinking person would find this act morally apprehensible, if not at least realize it would be impossible to get away with something like this.
I can’t see Mike Leach surviving this, and continuing as head coach at Texas Tech. I mean hell, Mark Mangino was forced to step down at Kansas and all he did was poke some chests, and name call. I’m pretty sure Leach will find a similar fate considering he exposed a player to light deprivation, and social isolation. It’s a shame Obama shut down Guantanamo Bay, Leach would have fit in rather well there.
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