Leach attorneys want judge to reprimand Texas Tech
LUBBOCK, TX
Leach's attorneys allege in their filing that the Lubbock school
intentionally withheld an e-mail -- dated the day Leach was fired --
that they claim should have been turned over because it fell within
the scope of numerous subpoenas to the school.
The e-mail was obtained by Leach's attorneys late Wednesday from
a third party -- Hunt Oil Company. Another regent works for an
affiliate of the company, court documents state.
In the e-mail, former university regent Windy Sitton claimed
Leach's firing had been in the works since the coach's contract
negotiations in early 2009, when Sitton was still on the board.
"Everyone sees through this injustice to Mike Leach and Texas
Tech," Sitton wrote in the e-mail to the board's vice chairman.
"This whole thing smells."
Sitton, in an affidavit drawn up by her attorney Thursday, said
her e-mail to board vice chairman Jerry Turner was "based
entirely" on what Leach had told her and that she was speculating
when she wrote that his firing had been in Tech's plans since his
contract talks.
"I was never told by anyone in the Texas Tech administration or
anyone on the Board of Regents that they wanted an excuse to fire
Mike after he signed the new contract," Sitton's affidavit states.
"I have no personal knowledge of the University's version of the
circumstances. ... but the two contradictory versions have made me
realize that I should not have formed or stated any of the opinions
in my e-mail."
Turner did not immediately return a phone call to The Associated
Press seeking comment Thursday.
At a hearing in January, state District Judge William C. Sowder
warned Tech to comply with all requests for information from
Leach's attorneys including e-mails and text messages.
Leach was fired Dec. 30, two days after being suspended
following a claim from receiver Adam James' family that the coach
mistreated the player after he got a concussion.
James, the son of former NFL player and ESPN analyst Craig
James, has said his coach twice ordered him to stand for hours
while confined in a dark place during practice.
Leach, now living in Key West, Fla., has denied mistreating Adam
James and has said he suspects an $800,000 bonus he was to receive
Dec. 31 was the reason he got fired when he did.
The motion for sanctions against Tech asks the judge to make the
university produce all other e-mails it might have withheld, tell
why it withheld Sitton's e-mail and pay Leach $2,500 in attorney
fees.
University attorney Dan Perkins -- responding Thursday to an
e-mail from one of Leach's attorneys, Paul Dobrowski -- wrote that
"at no time did the school intentionally withhold any document"
and that Sitton's e-mail was not provided because school officials
were "unable to find any request to which it was responsive."
Leach's attorneys said Sitton's e-mail shows that Tech's conduct
was "egregious." They said university officials practiced
misconduct because the e-mail clearly shows they were talking about
dismissing Leach months before the incident with the player.
If a state entity is shown to be acting with misconduct, it
waives its right to a sovereign immunity defense, the lawyers said.
The university's lawyers claim Leach cannot sue because Texas
Tech is a state entity that can only be sued with permission from
the state Legislature or a waiver based on a defendant's conduct.