If you doubt how quick and easy it is to go from a complete douche-bag to a sympathetic victim in the blink of an eye, look no further than  the “Letterman Effect”

David Letterman admits to numerous affairs with women in his office, something definitely worthy of d-bag status. Yet he becomes the sympathetic victim when all of the blackmail allegations are revealed.

Mike Leach, his supporters and Adam James bashers should take heed and proceed with caution. The “Letterman Effect” tipping points in such matters are unpredictable and can happen over-night.

Adam Jones is already a victim to some extent.   There will be no dispute that he had a concussion. There will be no dispute that he was put in this “shed” for some currently unknown reason.  All of the email and radio pundit bashing his work-habits/ attitude may be accurate but in the end his work-habits and attitude are not relevant to the determination of what Leach did to him was appropriate.  If this type of punishment has never been used on another player it will not take an F. Lee Bailey type to argue that Adam James was in fact the one retaliated against.  The more James becomes the victim, the more difficult it will be for Leach to claim that his treatment of James was used as a pre-text to fire him for other reasons.  Public perception can change on a dime.

Finally, people who feel victimized find it very easy to file lawsuits to vindicate their victim status. Leach will certainly file his.  The more James is publicly perceived as a victim the more likely he will be to use that to his advantage in his own lawsuit.  While one would think James’s father would put the brakes on such action ,these types of downhill snowballs have a way of rolling over a logical decision making process.

Texas Tech had to fire Mike Leach regardless of whether it can be proven that he actually he actually did something wrong  in his treatment Adam James, son of former NFL player and ESPN college football analyst Craig James. of

According to ESPN:

“A source close to James’ family told ESPN’s Joe Schad that James sustained a concussion on Dec. 16, was examined the following day and told not to practice because of the injury and an elevated heart rate. The source said Leach called a trainer and directed him to move James “to the darkest place, to clean out the equipment and to make sure that he could not sit or lean. He was confined for three hours.”

If even remotely true, that’s all Tech needed to know.  To keep Leach would be a disaster moving forward with an alleged fact scenario conjuring images of torture regardless of motivational motives.  James was a college football player, not an al-Qaeda operative being interrogated.   What about future recruiting?  The new standard punch-line question for parents from schools competing against Tech for recruits would be to ask if they really wanted their injured son locked in a closet unable to sit or stand. There was also a much bigger-picture legal concern than some pissed  off students and alumni who you would expect to come to Leach’s defense.

If Texas Tech did not fire Leach, they would be trying his case over and over both in a court of law and in the court of public opinion every single time a parent did not like the way their son/athlete was treated after an injury.

It would not be limited to football.  In every sport at Tech, when a student suffered questionable treatment by a coach when claiming injury, parents could point at Tech’s retention of Leach and claim they condoned the conduct.  The only way to cure this was to cut off the head ending it right here.

Leach will sue. His reputation and future as a coach is on the line.  Tech knows this and is expecting it.  It will not go to trial.  Leach will make noise about wanting vindication and taking it to verdict but in the end he does not want the facts played out in court any more than Tech. They will make an offer, there will be a confidentiality agreement and everyone will move on.  Leach will coach again.  Schools with football programs have short memories when winners come knocking.