Excerpts from Mike Leach’s book reveal the lies by Adam James that got him fired at Texas Tech
July 18, 2011 By Robert Crowe Comments (0)
Mike Leach’s new book tells in detail what happened in 2009 with Adam and Craig James that led to his wrongful termination at Texas Tech.
Leach was fired at Texas Tech based on false statements made by Adam James, who is the son of former football star and college football analyst Craig James. Craig James claimed that his son was forced to practice with a concussion and had been locked in an electrical closet for three hours.
In an excerpt from Leach’s new book it reveals that Adam James was lying about the whole incident and he admitted this under oath.
According to Pincock’s statement, he specifically told James not to go into the electrical closet by the media room. James admitted under oath that he ignored Pincock’s instructions. He admitted that he let himself into that closet and that he shot a video — a video that would start a firestorm of allegations — because he thought it was funny.
Craig James became so enthralled in his son’s lies that he went on a personal crusade to get Mike Leach fired. Craig James went to the Chancellor of Texas Tech University to spread his son’s lies and demanded that Mike Leach be fired.
According to both his and Anders’s depositions, Craig demanded that I be fired. Hance called me and said that Craig had phoned Anders to complain about his son being forced to play before his concussion was healed, which was simply not true. I explained the situation to Hance, and also told him how often Craig called up the Tech coaches to lobby for more playing time for his son. I told him that Adam had been a constant discipline problem and that I planned on cutting him from the team. Hance told me not to cut Adam.
Things got worse for Leach when the company that Craig James worked for, ESPN, reported this story in an extremely biased way that made him look guilty of these false accusations. This story was reported on pure speculation and had not been based on facts. Once they reported this story the public had automatically assumed that Leach was in the wrong and needed to be fired.
The actions by the two James men have caused them to embarrass not only their reputations but the reputation of Texas Tech. Both Craig and Adam James need to be held accountable for their actions that led to the firing of Mike Leach. It will probably never happen, but the two of them need to make a public apology to Mike Leach and admit that they were in the wrong for getting him fired.
Texas Tech claimed that the Adam James incident was not the reason that Mike Leach got fired, but it certainly was not because of his team’s lack of success. In all ten seasons that Leach was the head coach at Texas Tech the Red Raiders made it to a bowl game. Leach turned Texas Tech into perennial contenders to win the Big 12 South every season and won a total of 84 games.
This incident will forever tarnish the credibility that Craig James will have as a member of the media. The James name is already taking a hit in the public’s view and this ugly incident is the first thing that people think of about Adam and Craig James.
