General

Nobody Puts Adam James In A Corner

Dec 29, 2009, 7:45 PM UTC

I’m not sure whether it says more about myself or Mike Leach that when I heard Leach was in serious trouble for putting Craig James’s son in a closet for hours at a time, I thought to myself “of course Mike Leach put Craig James’s son in a closet for hours at a time.” The only questions I had are these:â†µâ†µâ‡¥Was it for the audio offenses the elder James regularly inflicts on viewers?
â‡¥â†µâ‡¥Did he make the younger James sing “Trapped in the Closet” when he was, you know, in a closet?
â‡¥â†µâ‡¥In what way does this relate to pirates?

â†µâ†µâ†µUnfortunately, this story is quite a bit darker than some merry yo-ho-ho-ing after an excessively raucous pirate-themed holiday party.â†µ

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James was diagnosed with a concussion and didn’t want to practice, resulting in the following punishment:â†µâ†µâ‡¥— On Dec. 17, James said Leach told trainers to put him “the darkest place you can find.” James was sent to an equipment shed near the practice field, where a member of the athletic staff checked on James to make sure he did not lean against anything or sit on the floor. James said Leach told him that if he came out he would be kicked off the team.â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥ — When the team returned to practice two days later, on Dec. 19, James said Leach told trainers to “find the tightest, darkest place” for the player. James, in his street clothes, was put in an electrical closet inside the football stadium for hours, again monitored by a member of the athletic staff.â‡¥â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µâ†µThis comes at a bad time for Leach. While pulling a Mangino with your players is never a great PR move, the recent convincing hubbub about the long-term effects of getting hit in the head a lot makes Leach seem like an even bigger jerk. â†µ

â†µâ†µThis can go one of two ways now. The aforementioned Mark Mangino saw most of his team mutiny; stories from as far back as his one year as a high school coach surfaced. And that was the end of that: at season’s end, Mangino was put out to pasture. On the other hand, Jim Leavitt “striking” a special teams player devolved into a weird he-said-he-also-said between the player, his brother and his father a day later. Leavitt is fine at South Florida; any concerns about his job security have more to do with his inability to win a game after the midway point of the season.â†µ

â†µâ†µLeach appears to be trending towards the Leavitt side of the register, with several players “vehemently” defending him from the levied charges in the local paper and implying that the younger James is something of a fancypants. Check that. Directly stating he’s something of a fancypants:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥“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,” [former offensive lineman Daniel] Loper said.â†µâ†µâ†µAt this point in his scandal cycle, the stories about Mark Mangino featured quotes like this:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥“It’s gone on for years, mistreating players like this,” one former player told the paper. “I had the worst time I’ve ever had from when I got there all the way to when I left.”â‡¥
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â†µâ‡¥Another former player told The Star: “Mangino has made people who come to the school that loved football leave hating football. And basically it all comes from how he treats his players.”â†µâ†µâ†µThe reaction to Leach has been 180 degrees from that. His job is unlikely to be under threat. â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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