Mike Leach Firing Clearly Justified by Evidence of Abuse of Brain Injured Athlete

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Posted on 3rd January 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Texas Tech has won its bowl game without the Concussion abuser Mike Leach as its head coach. Leach was fired on Thursday, just before his hearing to force reinstatement. The court case was odd, especially since Leach chose to try his case in the media with out of context claims of support from the team doctor and trainer. As reported by the New York Times, neither the trainer nor the team doctor are supporting his treatment of Adam James. See http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/sports/ncaafootball/03leach.html?hp

A Texas Tech athletic trainer said he was told by the fired coach Mike Leach to lock wide receiver Adam James in the dark after doctors determined that he had a concussion, according to an affidavit released Saturday by the university.

According to the NY Times story:

In a Dec. 21 interview with a university investigative attorney looking into James’s treatment, Steve Pincock, Texas Tech’s head football trainer, said he told James he was sorry about placing him inside an equipment shed on Dec. 17 near the practice field. According to the affidavit, Pincock also said he was not aware that any other player had ever been treated in such a manner.

“I do not agree with this form of treatment for anyone,” Pincock said in the affidavit.

In describing what Leach told him to do, Pincock quoted the coach as using graphic and profane language about locking James in a dark place, according to the affidavit. Pincock also told the investigator that Leach “wanted James to be uncomfortable,” the affidavit said. Pincock did not return a message left on his cellphone or reply to a text message Saturday.

Despite Leach’s media claims, the team doctor did not support the treatment of James, either. According to the NY Times:

In another affidavit released Saturday by the university, the team physician Michael Phy told the investigator on Dec. 22 that James “may not have been harmed,” but that Phy considered “this practice inappropriate.” In the statement announcing Leach’s firing, Texas Tech said Leach’s actions put James “at risk for additional injury.”
As I said on one of my other blogs last week, while isolation does not necessarily expose the injured brain to any new physical forces, it can expose the brain to additional stress, which can result in further Post Concussion Syndrome problems. See http://blog.subtlebraininjury.com/2009/12/texas-tech-isolation-for-concussed.html

Last year was a remarkable year for concussion awareness, but we are only scratching the surface of treating the secondary effects of concussion, especially those that involve emotional stressors. I hope the Leach chapter stays in the media focus long enough to get some of the leading thinkers on concussion to educate on this issue further.

1 Comments

  1. Peter M. Arel says:

    In ANY case involving a concussed student-athlete THE DOCTOR’S WORD IS LAW!
    THE DOCTOR IS TRYING TO PROTECT BOTH THE STUDENT ATHLETE ( AND
    THE SCHOOL FROM A COSTLY LAWSUIT IF THE PLAYER’S INJURY WORSENS).
    THE DOCTOR IS MORE QUALIFIED THAN THE COACH TO DETERMINE IF THE
    PLAYER CAN PLAY OR NOT.

    3rd January 2010 at 2:29 pm

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