LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -Former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach spent more than five hours behind closed doors Friday, testifying under oath as part of his lawsuit against the school for firing him amid allegations he mistreated a player suffering from a concussion.
After completing his deposition, Leach gave a brief statement, his voice cracking with emotion as he talked about how great it was to be back in Lubbock after a decade building his pass-happy team into a Big 12 powerhouse.
“We’ve had 10 incredible years here, and had a really good day today,” he said. “What can I say? It’s 10 years.”
He got up quickly from his chair and left the room.
ons of libel and slander and breach of contract.
The sophomore receiver said his coach twice ordered him to stand for hours while confined in a dark place during practice. James and his father, former player and ESPN analyst Craig James, are expected to give their depositions on Saturday.
One of Leach’s attorneys, Ted Liggett, said Leach will be in the room when Craig James is questioned, but not when the younger James gives his deposition.
Another one of Leach’s attorneys, Paul Dobrowski, said his client’s case is “substantially stronger” following depositions from school officials who investigated allegations of mistreatment. He said testimony from school Chancellor Kent Hance and a university attorney confirmed Leach’s contention that Craig James wanted the coach fired when he complained about the way his son was treated following his injury.
The testimony also confirmed that university President Guy Bailey penned a memo Dec. 27 to Hance recommending that Leach “be issued a letter of reprimand” and that the James case be closed, Dobrowski said.
But the attorney said Craig James got word to the chancellor that he wanted Leach fired. Hance relayed that information to the board of regents and board Chairman Larry Anders and Vice Chairman Jerry Turner were the ones that recommended Leach be fired, Dobrowski said.
that it was “against Texas Tech policy for regents to unduly influence or direct Messrs. Bailey and Myers to terminate an employee like Mike Leach.”
The Bailey memo also stated, Dobrowski said, that university policy gave Leach the right to file a lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order after he was suspended Dec. 28 “without fear of retaliation.” Yet he accused Anders of recommending that Leach be fired if he filed a lawsuit.
“I think that we know and they know that our case has gotten substantially stronger by virtue of the discovery process, and that the documents that Texas Tech has produced has confirmed Mike’s position,” Dobrowski said.
The case has been ugly, including a rapid-fire stream of court filings filled with accusations.
Dobrowski said it was “no coincidence” Texas Tech released video footage this week that shows Leach in the locker room after games against Baylor and Kansas State. Leach is seen and heard using profane language when talking to his team.
The school released the footage because, Dobrowski said, because it is “trying to smear Mike.”
The dispute was ordered into mediation, but Dobrowski said he believes the case will go to trial.
“That’s my view,” he said. “Certainly we are preparing for trial.”
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