WSU's Leach denies that players are abused
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Washington State football coach Mike Leach denied his players are subjected to any type of abuse, as alleged by star receiver Marquess Wilson.
Wilson made the allegations in a letter he released Saturday in which he quit the team and also complained that the coaching staff would "belittle, intimidate and humiliate us."
Leach said during his regular Monday meeting with reporters: "There is no truth about it at all." He described Wilson as a disgruntled player.
Asked if there had been any actions by coaches that could be construed as abuse, Leach replied: "No, no, no. Next question."
Wilson issued a statement on Saturday saying he had quit the team as a protest to "physical, emotional and verbal abuse" by the coaching staff. He did not provide examples and has not been available for comment.
Wilson is WSU's career leader with 3,207 receiving yards, but has been a regular target of criticism from Leach and his assistants since spring drills. More recently he was demoted to backup receiver, although he continued to lead the team in receptions and yards.
Washington State President Elson Floyd on Sunday asked the school's athletic department and the Pac-12 Conference to conduct separate investigations into Wilson's allegations.
"Together, both reports should get to the bottom of the matter," Floyd said in a press release.
Leach said he had no problem with the two investigations, which he expected would "dispel all the falsehoods that surround this."
Wilson was suspended after walking out of a tough conditioning drill on Nov. 4.
"Sixty five people went through that workout, and he left after 15 minutes and nobody went after him," Leach said. "That says more about him than anybody or anything else."
At first, athletic department officials said there was a chance Wilson could return, but the player put an end to that on Saturday.
"I believe coaches have a chance to mold players, to shape men, to create greatness," Wilson's statement said. "However, the new regime of coaches has preferred to belittle, intimidate and humiliate us."
Several players asked if they have witnessed abuse either declined to comment or denied seeing any abuse.
"Staying away from all that is the smart thing to do," said quarterback Jeff Tuel, a close friend of Wilson, on Monday.
"I haven't seen any sort of physical abuse at all," center Elliott Bosch said.
Leach was fired from Texas Tech after the 2009 season for an incident in which he was alleged to have ordered a player with a concussion to sit in a storage shed during practice. Leach disputed the allegation and it was not proven. Leach has sued Texas Tech, contending he was fired so the school could avoid a large payment due him at the end of the year.
Washington State hired Leach late last year to revive a moribund program, paying him more than $2 million a year. The hire energized the fan base, but it has been a tough initial season, as the Cougars are 2-8 with two games left.
Leach has raised eyebrows with his comments lambasting his team after some games. He has said some of the seniors display an "empty corpse quality," said the team's performance in a loss at Utah resembled a zombie convention, and said the play of his offensive and defensive lines in that game "bordered on cowardice."
Wilson made the allegations in a letter he released Saturday in which he quit the team and also complained that the coaching staff would "belittle, intimidate and humiliate us."
Leach said during his regular Monday meeting with reporters: "There is no truth about it at all." He described Wilson as a disgruntled player.
Asked if there had been any actions by coaches that could be construed as abuse, Leach replied: "No, no, no. Next question."
Wilson issued a statement on Saturday saying he had quit the team as a protest to "physical, emotional and verbal abuse" by the coaching staff. He did not provide examples and has not been available for comment.
Wilson is WSU's career leader with 3,207 receiving yards, but has been a regular target of criticism from Leach and his assistants since spring drills. More recently he was demoted to backup receiver, although he continued to lead the team in receptions and yards.
Washington State President Elson Floyd on Sunday asked the school's athletic department and the Pac-12 Conference to conduct separate investigations into Wilson's allegations.
"Together, both reports should get to the bottom of the matter," Floyd said in a press release.
Leach said he had no problem with the two investigations, which he expected would "dispel all the falsehoods that surround this."
Wilson was suspended after walking out of a tough conditioning drill on Nov. 4.
"Sixty five people went through that workout, and he left after 15 minutes and nobody went after him," Leach said. "That says more about him than anybody or anything else."
At first, athletic department officials said there was a chance Wilson could return, but the player put an end to that on Saturday.
"I believe coaches have a chance to mold players, to shape men, to create greatness," Wilson's statement said. "However, the new regime of coaches has preferred to belittle, intimidate and humiliate us."
Several players asked if they have witnessed abuse either declined to comment or denied seeing any abuse.
"Staying away from all that is the smart thing to do," said quarterback Jeff Tuel, a close friend of Wilson, on Monday.
"I haven't seen any sort of physical abuse at all," center Elliott Bosch said.
Leach was fired from Texas Tech after the 2009 season for an incident in which he was alleged to have ordered a player with a concussion to sit in a storage shed during practice. Leach disputed the allegation and it was not proven. Leach has sued Texas Tech, contending he was fired so the school could avoid a large payment due him at the end of the year.
Washington State hired Leach late last year to revive a moribund program, paying him more than $2 million a year. The hire energized the fan base, but it has been a tough initial season, as the Cougars are 2-8 with two games left.
Leach has raised eyebrows with his comments lambasting his team after some games. He has said some of the seniors display an "empty corpse quality," said the team's performance in a loss at Utah resembled a zombie convention, and said the play of his offensive and defensive lines in that game "bordered on cowardice."
What else was he going to say. Way to go butt pirate.
See Texas Tech 2009 - http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/bowls09/news/story?id=4781981
Did anybody in the Cougar Nation ever question why it took 3 years before Mike Leach resurfaced to Coach again? Then hired not to a premier football program, but to the back water school of the Pac12. It could be the old axium is true, "where there smoke there is fire."
 @Phatharrius There are deposition transcripts you can read where Adam James admitted he lied.Â
@yournamehere - do you care to provide a link?
Im wondering what will happen if other players come forward with this. I remember the same whining from cougfans in the early wulff days when he was blaming/benching Doba players for losses and they began transferring out.
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It took 3 embarrassingly losing seasons for the cougs to even turn on Wulff, despite the fact that he was an embarrassment to the program. I never knew coug fans were such cannibals. If this becomes a habit with Leach, who has a record for these kinds of things, I wonder how long it will take cougs to turn on him?
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To be honest, Wilson should never have played for the Cougs anyway. Everyone knows the 'culture' over in Pullman, and its not exactly a nice open place or program for everyone.Â
Wilson is the Milton Bradley of WSU. He was called out for being a diva and his lack of effort and decided to whine because he was called on his crap. Good Riddance.
Glad Wilson is gone. Not a team player, out for himself. Thats exactly why this has been ongoing since the day the new coaching staff came in. They saw it early and tried to fix it. But, you cant fix stupid. Go Cougs
Wilson is a proma donna. Leach would not cater to him like Wulff did, so he claims abuse......Had this been any other coach he would not be going down this road. The ONLY reason he is is because of the false accusations that Leach had to deal with at TT.It should be interesting to see if ANY program wants this kid on their roster.......Â
I'd be curious to see if this player has had this same experience with other coaches or if this is the only one. Also, I'd be curious to see if other players past and present (if they decide to talk) have had the same experience.Â