Mike Leach fired from Texas Tech

[Finger Laker]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

When responsible journalists have a conflict of interest, they disclose it. When the Wall Street Journal discusses Dow Jones, they disclose ownership.

You do not see that same standard on ESPN. The father should NOT be giving "his side of the story" on ESPN while acting as an ESPN analyst on NCAA football.

I believe that if this ever ends up in court (which it won't) and the records are PUBLIC, we will all realize how little we really know. It may be another case of a helicopter father.

exactly

You see it all the time on broadcasts, especially ones that discuss financials, a disclosure of conflicts

what I find funny is that this is one case where ESPN should throw a disclaimer out when discussing the issue - but they really haven't

however, if you want to pick a winner of the Iowa State/MN bowl game an analyst will recuse himself from discussing the game or predicting and outcome because he's working it as a broadcaster ...... which really doesn't pose any conflict at all as he has no bearing on the game and usually these people are there as analysts - not journalists

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by Nor Cal Wahine

This isn't a TT lovefest, it's a thread about Leach's firing. I haven't bashed Tech one bit, and so far you seem to be the only fan even remotely fired up here. On the contrary, this discussion has gone on with zero confrontation for three pages now. I don't have to be a Tech lover to start a thread on the subject, and I don't have to be a Tech hater to see two sides to this story and want to discuss my opinion of it. When you see me calling Leach an a-hole or disparaging TT football in some form by all means blast away.

Nah, I'm not fired up at all. I wasn't expecting it to be a "lovefest" by any means. That one paragraph of yours just seemed very condescending, almost like you came in with the attitude of "Let's see what excuses the little Tech fans have come up with". Considering the amount of reps I've received from the post, I think I'm not the only one who took it that way. If you meant that statement to be in a different tone, then I'm sorry. The paragraph before was pretty much spot on though.

[Nomadic9460678748]

In so far as Craig James is willing to make statements about this issue as a parent, I believe he should be permitted to speak. However, I don't believe he should be voicing any predictions or insights as to the TTU v. MSU game. I see no reason why he shouldn't call other games. He seemed at ease in the booth with Fowler and Palmer during the Nebraska game. The situation was brought up at one point and James touched upon it briefly and then after that it was back to the game at hand. Quite frankly I can't see any similarity between James not recusing himself and the need for full-disclosure in matters of financial reporting, for example. There has yet to even be a legal proceeding regarding this whole affair. What's more, I would argue that journalistic opacity regarding financial issues are potentially far more threatening in their social and policy reverberations than those of a sports analyst's. I'm in favor of a higher standard of journalistic integrity across the board, but a sports scandal, for me, is not quite akin to a hypothetical political, financial, or policy scandal which would most certainly require transparent, objective reporting. I've heard Rece Davis (or whoever else might be reporting) say, "We should note that Adam James is the son of ABC College Football analyst Craig James" and move on after that. I'm not privy to what legal standards of full-disclosure are applicable in a case like this, but I would assume that a company as large as ABC would try and cover their bases in the most ethical fashion imaginable and apparently this little disclaimer fits that criteria. Who knows?

I think there's still a lot to be learned about this entire incident. I'd posted on another forum that I do think a large part of the problem was Leach's inability to get out of his own way, but I do wonder how quickly this maelstrom would have ensued had the player in question not had a sports analyst father working for ABC. It will probably get worse before it gets better.

[Jess5]

Originally Posted by Nor Cal Wahine

I think the influence of James' family definitely got the TT admins to take a closer look at the situation, no doubt about it. Had another player from your everyday middle-class family complained, it would have probably been swept under the rug. Does that fact make the James family look bad though, or does it make TT look bad? This is where opinions will wildly vary.

At the end of the day however, I feel quite strongly that Leach was fired not for his role in the James incident, but for his blatant insubordination post-incident, a thought echoed by the TT admins in their press release. He refused on several fronts to cooperate with them and in essence, forgot who was signing his paycheck. Take that insubordination into any other field of employment and the result would be the same - a fired employee. Does anyone really think that the school wanted him gone? That's ridiculous - he put that damn school on the map! The legal fees for his termination will probably easily surpass the amount of the bonus he was owed, and he will undoubtedly walk away with money anyway. So I really don't buy the "they wanted to screw him out of money" defense. that just doesn't make any sense. His firing will ultimately cost the school more than keeping him.

I fully expected when I posted the comments from other players supporting Leach's departure that people would come back with a standard "Oh, those are just friends of James sticking up for him" reply ... so I wasn't surprised to see that angle come right out. I suppose the same could be said however for the handful of people who came out in support of Leach, too. Right?

What I said about the friends of James is what was relayed on the news. I didn't just pull it out of my, um, hat. I have been a Mike Leach fan for years, and I know that Leach does not lie, or even try to get around anything. He speaks exactly how he sees it. He's not the most tactful person, and that is what gets him into trouble. Someone will ask him something, he answers, people don't like the way he addresses issues, they call the university, the admins tell Leach to apologize, and he says No, I meant what I said. They get tired of him not conforming to their wishes, they're stuck between trying to appease disgruntled people, and not being able to do anything about it. Because of that kid being who he is, and his dad crying about this situation, they felt they had to appease the big daddy, no matter what it took. The admins and Leach have been at odds for quite a while because of his outspoken ways.

Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning news said the reason they fired Leach, but, took on Knight, and put up with his antics (of which Leach hasn't come close to) and didn't fire him was because Myers liked Knight. Or, was afraid of him, like most of the administrations and media. Leach has done much more for that program that Knight. I honestly think next year would have been the best ever for Tech.

Leach was just on ESPN, and, as usual, told it like it is. He said James was lazy, and that is documented by other players and coaches. He said his dad was always meddling. He said some more things, but, it was short and sweet. Well, not so sweet. He also said this situation would never have reached these proportions if the kids dad wasn't a well known sports announcer. I think everyone knows that. We need more honest men like Mike Leach who won't cower down to anyone. It wouldn't hurt if he softened up those rough edges though, and showed a little diplomacy.

Oh, and he did not refuse to cooperate with the admins., they wanted him to apologize to the whole James family, and he said No, because he didn't do what they are accusing him of.
Loved this sign at the Armed Forces Bowl:
Every
Spoiled
Player
Needs Craig James as a dad

[marmac]

Originally Posted by Jess5

What I said about the friends of James is what was relayed on the news. I didn't just pull it out of my, um, hat. I have been a Mike Leach fan for years, and I know that Leach does not lie, or even try to get around anything. He speaks exactly how he sees it. He's not the most tactful person, and that is what gets him into trouble. Someone will ask him something, he answers, people don't like the way he addresses issues, they call the university, the admins tell Leach to apologize, and he says No, I meant what I said. They get tired of him not conforming to their wishes, they're stuck between trying to appease disgruntled people, and not being able to do anything about it. Because of that kid being who he is, and his dad crying about this situation, they felt they had to appease the big daddy, no matter what it took. The admins and Leach have been at odds for quite a while because of his outspoken ways.

Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning news said the reason they fired Leach, but, took on Knight, and put up with his antics (of which Leach hasn't come close to) and didn't fire him was because Myers liked Knight. Or, was afraid of him, like most of the administrations and media. Leach has done much more for that program that Knight. I honestly think next year would have been the best ever for Tech.

Leach was just on ESPN, and, as usual, told it like it is. He said James was lazy, and that is documented by other players and coaches. He said his dad was always meddling. He said some more things, but, it was short and sweet. Well, not so sweet. He also said this situation would never have reached these proportions if the kids dad wasn't a well known sports announcer. I think everyone knows that. We need more honest men like Mike Leach who won't cower down to anyone. It wouldn't hurt if he softened up those rough edges though, and showed a little diplomacy.

Oh, and he did not refuse to cooperate with the admins., they wanted him to apologize to the whole James family, and he said No, because he didn't do what they are accusing him of.
Loved this sign at the Armed Forces Bowl:
Every
Spoiled
Player
Needs Craig James as a dad

Great post !

I liken this entire episode to somebody being asked to plea bargain when they didn't feel they were guilty to start with.

[marmac]

Lou Holtz commented that a coach must never humiliate a player.

When a player has "an attitude", I think they need some humiliation.


And yes, the " famous dad" sticking his nose constantly into team's affairs.

We had that happen in Minnesota Gopher basketball a few years ago.

The dad even went into the Gophers locker room at halftime with the team.

[texdav]

If the sworn statement from the trainer is real ;Leach is a goner for cause.When a player has a concusion ;humilation is the last thing he needs;you let the trainers do their job.

[DOUBLE H]

Originally Posted by marmac

(IMHO) This sends a message to all college coaches that you better be carefull dealing with players based on what their last name is ( especially if their dad is a TV sports figure )

Anymore there is a LOT of truth in that! Good post Marmac!

[Nat of the ATL]

This is the god*&%$ 21st guys, you don't lock somebody for hours at a time in a dark room to treat a concussion, especially if you're a big football program with more than adequate treatment facilities and specialists. That was just a stupid move and maybe he shouldn't have been fired, but he definetley deserved something.

In his speech after he was fired, he was still reading directley from a script made by his lawyer. Does anybody really think that that is a good sign. I'm sorry to say it, but even if Leach wasn't fired, the feeling in the locker room and toward him would never have been the same.



And to all you Texas tech fans whining about it and trying to petition for him to comeback, STOP! It's not ever going to happen. He's gone and it is mostly his fault in the first place.

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by Nat of the ATL

This is the god*&%$ 21st guys, you don't lock somebody for hours at a time in a dark room to treat a concussion, especially if you're a big football program with more than adequate treatment facilities and specialists. That was just a stupid move and maybe he shouldn't have been fired, but he definetley deserved something.

In his speech after he was fired, he was still reading directley from a script made by his lawyer. Does anybody really think that that is a good sign. I'm sorry to say it, but even if Leach wasn't fired, the feeling in the locker room and toward him would never have been the same.



And to all you Texas tech fans whining about it and trying to petition for him to comeback, STOP! It's not ever going to happen. He's gone and it is mostly his fault in the first place.

I'm guessing that everything you've heard about the situation is from ESPN, right? If that is the case, all I will say is that you have no idea of what's really going on.