Even giving him a salt tablet is an improvement over that. If that's what happened, the coach deserves his suspension and whatever else may come.
Something to listen to while you read. zSHARE - Cleaning Out My Closet - Team Leach.mp3 http://www.redraiders.com/2009/12/29/former-tech-players-support-suspended-leach/ “I’m privy to a lot of stuff going on down there, and I think the whole thing has been blown way out of proportion. I’m totally in support of coach Leach,” said former offensive lineman Cody Campbell, who was part of Leach’s first recruiting class at Tech. “I’ve heard Adam James was involved with it, he supposedly had a concussion and that Leach basically made him adhere to team rules and guidelines when it comes to injuries. And (James) was upset by that. “Leach has unusual methods for doing things a lot of times, but he’s never cruel and never out of line in doing them.” Former Tech offensive lineman Daniel Loper, who now plays for the NFL’s Detroit Lions, also was stunned and surprised by the allegations against Leach. Loper said the incident in question is nothing like the one earlier this year at Kansas, where head coach Mark Mangino resigned amid allegations that he abused his players verbally and physically. “The whole time I was there, and as well as I know coach Leach, he would never do anything to publicly humiliate or endanger someone’s wellbeing, and he would never do anything unprofessional,” Loper said. “… I never saw him show any kind of favoritism or any kind of hate toward any singular person.” Former players Graham Harrell and Eric Morris, who finished their Tech careers last season, said Leach handles injured players appropriately and equally. They said Leach and his coaching staff do not pressure players to return to the field before they’re healthy enough to do so, and Morris also said injured players are required to participate in practices just like every other Red Raider. For example, a player with an injured leg would be required to do pushups during a workout so he could maintain his conditioning and continue to build strength. Former Tech offensive lineman Glenn January referred to the common practice as “Muscle Beach” and also said Leach “doesn’t deviate from the (NCAA) rule book at all and wouldn’t do anything to put a player in harm at all.” “If you’re injured, you’re required to still participate in some form or fashion. You still have to be outside and doing something,” Morris said. “At times people have tried to get away with faking a little nag here and there, and to get away from people doing that, you always need to let everybody know they’re not going to stand around and do nothing. It’s a great thing to have in place. Some people want to get complacent and do different things because things aren’t going their way.” Harrell, who finished the 2008 regular-season finale against Baylor despite breaking several bones in his hand during the first half, said Leach left the decision up to him and did not pressure the quarterback to play through the injury. Harrell also said he had the blessing of Tech’s trainers and doctors. “He was hard on us,” Harrell said, “but it wasn’t like he ever threatened us or put us in a situation that was dangerous to us.” Some former Tech players, who said they have been in contact with current Red Raiders and the coaching staff, questioned the validity of James’ complaint as well as his motives and intentions. They also said James has a reputation for being soft and somewhat of a prima donna. “I think some people honestly are not tough enough to play college football, and (James) might be one of them, especially if he’s worried about being called out or humiliated,” Loper said. “… Sometimes that happens, especially at the collegiate level. It’s not like high school and Pop Warner, where everyone gets to play and gets a pat on the back. Sometimes coaches can be mean and yell.” January said the shed in which James spent practice on Dec. 17 might have been the most appropriate place to deal with his concussion, because it kept him out of the sunlight. January said he and his teammates on the offensive line often retreated to the same shed during practices to rest and escape the heat. “It’s not like it’s some dungeon,” he said. January and some other former Tech players also suggested the incident wouldn’t have been scrutinized if James wasn’t the son of Craig James, a former SMU and NFL standout who now works as a television analyst for ESPN. “It’s basically a non-issue,” January said. “The only reason it’s getting any attention is because of who his dad is.” Neither Adam James nor any other Tech player was made available for comment Monday after Leach’s suspension was announced, and Craig James did not return multiple calls from The A-J seeking comment. Regardless of what happened, many former Tech players said the timing of the Jameses’ complaint and Leach’s subsequent suspension is unfortunate. The Red Raiders face Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl on Saturday, and it’s also prime recruiting season. Former players such as Harrell, Loper and Ryan Aycock said Tech administrators, recruits and even fans should not rush to judgement. “Anybody that looks into this story should not be shied away,” Loper said. “I don’t know the whole situation with Adam’s father and his influence, and I don’t know if they’re thinking they’re being mistreated like the deal at Kansas. I don’t think this is a situation where (Leach) should be fired or even suspended. From what I’ve heard, I think it’s a little over the line.”
Been listening to D/FW radio this morning and its being said that Craig James was constantly calling Leach bitching about his kid's playing time, as was the kid. A bunch of Leach's ex players like Wes Welker have come out and said Leach has always treated concussions seriously. It has also been said that the kid was wanting a transfer and Leach refused, so it sounds like this kid is just pissed and was slacking off in practice so Leach put him in a closet. Craig James can piss off, he is an egomaniac, and i am glad his kid got put in a closet. All of this is the result of a parent going little league about his kid's playing time, and he thinks he should get preferential treatment because he is the son of Craig James, who screwed SMU over so bad that they have been a joke since.
The other thing that is completely screwy about this whole deal is the fact that Leach is also a lawyer. He knows what is allowable by law and wouldn't dare cross that line.
Liggett has filed some papers for Leach, made a comment also: "First off, it's not a shed. Not close. It's an 18 x 30 foot prefabricated building that is used for a number of purposes, including a place where players go in order to cool off or relax during practice breaks. In fact, Rick, if you'll check with your producer, you'll find I've already sent you a photograph of this purported "shed." Take a look and tell me if that's what you had envisioned given the description by the James family. That the player and his father would try to distort even that simple reality by conjuring up visions of a rickety shack where garden tools are stored should tell you a lot right there. Now then, as for the allegation that the player was also thrown into a closet on another occasion, well, my gosh Rick, if you call a large open area near the entrance of the visitor's locker room through which a hundred very large young men must pass before taking the field a closet, well, then I guess my idea of a closet and yours are quite a bit different. The simple fact is that the player was provided a place to train on a stationary bicycle outside of the direct sunlight -- which can be detrimental to someone recovering from a concussion. The player didn't like it, wishing instead to stand on the sidelines in his sunshades on while cutting up with his teammates, so he went and told daddy. My client is devastated by these carefully spun allegations. He is not, however, shocked given the identities of the people involved."
i dont care who it is for what reason, i wouldnt let anyone put me in the described conditions as punishment. and id sure as hell hope my son would allow that to happen to him either. if true, craig james should not only be mad at leach but ashamed of his son.
This is the horrible hell hole that Pony Express Jr. was subjected to. Wow. How inhumane. I'd raise hell if my kid had to go in there! :dis: Somebody needs to put on their big boy panties. This is just more Tech administration shenanigans trying to get rid of Leach for cause and not pay him his contract because he's a bit weird and won't play university politics. He will leave, but it will be with all his money. And he will get reinstated for their bowl.
http://www.texasmonthly.com/20...01/webextra.php As anyone who knows anything about Texas Tech football can tell you, there is something odd about yesterday’s suspension of football coach Mike Leach because of a complaint that he mistreated a third-string receiver named Adam James, who happens to be the son of football commentator and former SMU star Craig James. For one thing, Leach has never been known to violate any NCAA rules on player treatment, as a wave of former players who went public this week have attested. He can certainly be tough. When I was in Lubbock in March, reporting on a TEXAS MONTHLY cover story (“Mike Leach Is Thinking...”, September 2009), he made receiver Ed Britton sit at a desk outdoors in a blizzard for two hours for missing study hall. Leach has a special, 40-yard long sand pit next to the Tech practice field where delinquent players—especially academically delinquent players—are put through all sorts of boot camp-like exercises meant to get their minds right. The sand pit (aka “Muscle Beach”) is also where injured players are put to work during practice dragging truck tires or pounding stakes and generally working whatever parts of their bodies are not injured. But a pattern of abuse like what Kansas head football coach Mark Mangino is alleged to be guilty of? There is no evidence at all for it. Not only have many of Leach’s former players already come forward to defend him, but testimonials popping up on the Internet are running roughly 100 to 1 in favor of Leach and against his bosses, Texas Tech’s athletic director Gerald Myers and Tech Chancellor Kent Hance. (This estimate is, of course, highly unscientific.) As far as anyone can tell, here is what happened. On December 16, Adam James suffered a mild concussion. Since he could therefore not participate in contact drills, the coaches had him walking the track. The next day he showed up wearing sunglasses, explaining that the doctor said this would help him recover. Leach, apparently thinking that James was exaggerating his injury—though this is not entirely clear—sent him to the team's equipment room to stand in the darkness. (In some accounts this has been described as a “shed” or a “closet.” I have been there and seen it, and it is a normal equipment room.) According to the James family’s allegations, Adam was forced to do this for the next two days. This is where things get a bit fuzzy. Leach later told Tech officials that he thought James was a slacker. I can confirm that Leach and his coaches thought this about James as far back as March. In one of the coaches meetings that I attended, James and one other player were specifically discussed. Without saying why, Leach told his coaches they needed to get tougher on those players since they obviously felt they were not giving 100 percent. There seemed to be general agreement on this. According to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Leach also told officials that Craig James had behaved like a Little League dad, constantly calling and complaining. At issue apparently was Adam’s playing time. He was not getting a lot of it, was unhappy about that, and according to several reports is already planning to transfer to SMU. What happened next was that Craig James took his complaints to Tech officials, saying that his son was being mistreated. Tech then asked Leach to apologize formally to Adam by Monday. Leach outright refused to do that, insisting that he had done nothing wrong, and Tech suspended him, which meant that Leach could not coach in this Saturday’s Alamo Bowl against Michigan State. The suspension reminded me of the bitter feud that erupted between Leach and athletic director Myers this spring. After a season when Leach’s football team went 11-2, after which he won several major coach-of-the-year awards, the Tech community was stunned to see headlines suggesting not only that Leach would not receive a raise but that he might be fired. Things got so bad that Chancellor Hance had to intervene personally. He and Leach worked out a salary package that made him the third highest paid coach in the Big 12. The feud with Myers was no longer in the headlines, but it simmered on. It has, in fact, been a strange year for Leach. After last year’s run at a national championship, the team struggled this year to an 8-4 season punctuated by a Leach outburst against his team following a loss to A&M which he blamed on the players’ “fat little girlfriends." After one player tweeted angrily that Leach was late for a meeting, Leach forbid his team from using Twitter. None of which adds up, however, to player abuse. I do not claim to know exactly what happened, but one scenario that must be considered is that we are witnessing a power play against Leach by the James family, who were unhappy because Adam wasn’t getting enough playing time. The Jameses are being greatly aided by their complaint’s proximity to both the Mark Mangino firing with its attendant allegations of player abuse and to the current NFL controversy over its sensitivity to player concussions. They are further aided by the fact that Leach and Myers hate each other. Leach’s lawyer Ted Liggett, meanwhile, is vowing to take Tech to court this week to force it to let Leach coach the bowl game. Stay tuned. If Tech fires Leach over this, there will be a mushroom cloud over Lubbock that will be visible for thousands of miles and a likely revolt of Tech fans, alums, and former players.
Folks, please consider that while CML may be crazy as a loon, he is also a LAWYER!!!!. I highly doubt he would do something that could not only void the payout he is subject to get in a few days much less put any hopes of him coaching again anywhere on the line for some snot nose punk. I could be wrong but I say let it play out and see what happens. Is Leach crazy? Hell yes he is but I don't think he is a fool.
