(Thumbnail image: Dallas Morning News)
Mike Leach is the winningest football coach in Texas Tech history, and this year the Red Raiders will play in their tenth-straight bowl game.
But Leach won’t be on the sidelines.
That’s because the university fired Leach Wednesday after player Adam James claimed Leach mistreated him after he suffered a concussion.
We’re looking at perspectives from CNN, ESPN, the blog Mr. Hassle's Long Underpants, and Fan IQ.
Leach signed a five-year contract extension with the university in February. ESPN reports he’ll still get $400,000 for each year remaining on his contract.
On Sports Center, football analyst Trevor Matich reacts to Leach’s firing.
“It’s a matter of acrimony between the coach and the administration, because if the treatment of Adam James is not egregious, then I think they wouldn't jump to this conclusion and jump to fire him immediately. Now, it certainly sounds egregious, but we don't have all the information yet. Right now it sounds like it’s almost an excuse to get rid of the guy and it arose.”
A post on the blog Fan IQ applauds Texas Tech for its decision, saying:
“…it's rather amazing how quickly this went down. Leach built this program from literally nothing, and then they fire him almost instantly. But I actually am firmly behind Texas Tech on this one. What Leach did was inexcusable, and it takes guts to fire a guy who built your entire program from scratch.”
Digging into the controversy behind the scenes, CNN’s Rick Sanchez points out that Adam James isn’t just any player – he’s the son of former NFL running back Craig James – who’s also an analyst for ESPN.
“He complained, it got all the way to the university president. It makes you ask this question, ‘If his dad hadn’t been that famous person, would this coach have been suspended?’”
Doc Shazam, who writes on the Web site Mr. Hassle’s Long Underpants, says the bottom line here isn’t sports – it’s medicine.
“…whatever the truth is, it highlights that every school, be it high school or collegiate, needs to adopt a policy on concussion management for players. Remove the head coach from the decision as he should not be involved…let him coach football.”
So, do you agree with Texas Tech’s decision? Should Leach have been fired?
By Newsy Staff
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