In his first interview since being fired as coach of Texas Tech, Mike Leach denied reports that he had mistreated the sophomore receiver Adam James after James sustained a concussion.
Leach said in a 38-minute phone interview late Thursday that James acted as if he were entitled to special treatment and that he was lazy. He also said the player and his family’s claims of mistreatment were the result of bitterness over a lack of playing time.
Leach said that he felt that James’s father, Craig James, tried to leverage his position as an ESPN analyst to get more playing time for his son.
It has been widely reported that Leach locked Adam James in a closet or a shed after James sustained a concussion at a practice last month. Leach said he only ordered James to be taken “out of the light” and did not know specifically where he had been taken.
“I was busy coaching practice,” Leach said.
He added: “There have been several things that have been brought to my attention on the ticker that’s just false,” Leach said, referring to ESPN’s bottom line ticker. “He was never locked anywhere. At no point was he locked anywhere. At no point was there an electrical closet.”
Leach described a divisive and tense relationship with Craig James, whom he said he had to deal with more than every other parent on the team combined. He said that James frequently attended practices and called assistant coaches.
“I think he used his position at ESPN to try to coerce me into allowing Adam to play more,” said Leach, who said he expected to coach again. “But the thing about it is as the coach, I watch every inch of film. I’m deferring to the judgment of 12 people as we look at the film on who should play and who should play when and then we make our decision based on that. I don’t feel like it’s fair to the other players and I don’t think it’s the right way to do business to allow influence and position to dictate when you play a young man.”
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