The Decay of ESPN - The Mike Leach Reporting
I love watching all that ESPN has to offer, however, I witnessed yesterday the decay of the network.
It was the Mike Leach story. The report went like this...
Mike Leach was fired yesterday because of his mistreatment of an injured player.
ESPN ran that Center Chris Perry said "You call other players. I think it was a good decision. We have our pep back now. We practice hard this week. We had less stress this week. You know why? Because he's gone.
They showed Adam Craig's cell phone video of the electrical closet he had to stay in.
They interviewed Adam's dad, Craig James on the effect it had on his family.
This kind of one-sided reporting is something I would expect from NBC or CNN, not ESPN. But remember, Craig James is an announcer for ESPN football games.
Here is some more information.
It sounds like Adam Craig was a spoiled jerk that felt entitled because of who his father was and that he was being humiliated, not mistreated. Click here for the emails.
When Leach arrived at Texas Tech, the football program was on NCAA probation and the graduation rate was far below the national average. However, in the past 10 years, Tech has been to 10 straight bowl games and has the third best record in the Big 12 Conference.
In February, Leach and the school agreed to a five-year, $12.7 million contract. Tech's termination letter said Leach was fired with cause, meaning the university believes it does not owe Leach any of the remaining money left on the contract. According to terms of the deal, Leach was due a $800,000 bonus on Dec. 31 if he were still the head coach at Texas Tech. Leach was fired on the 30th.
Its time for a new all-sports station to start. ESPN thinks it's bigger than the game.