Mike Leach Calls Former Texas Tech Leaders Sleazy

Mike Leach finally got some things off his chest. Things like, that he loves Cagels Steaks, he misses the people in Lubbock, and there were four bad apples in Lubbock hell-bent on stealing and cheating him out of his salary.

I say “getting things off his chest,” but this is nothing new for Leach. He’s been telling anyone who will listen that Kent Hance and the good ol’ boys at the top of the Red Raiders athletics department in 2009 only cared about screwing him over and nothing else.

Leach's press conference, which should be focused on the upcoming Liberty Bowl being played on December 28th with kickoff scheduled for 5:45 pm, was mostly on the rails — until it wasn't.

24:30 minutes into the presser, Leach was asked if there was anything about Lubbock that he missed, and he gave a pretty good answer before seizing yet another opportunity to blame Texas Tech for everything that happened in 2009.

You can listen to the final five minutes of the press conference here:

The answer is honestly pretty great. Leach says he had a great experience in Lubbock while going to 10 straight bowls before going into a diatribe about his experience at the end of his tenure in Lubbock, claiming that "four bad apples" were hiding documents illegally.

“I’ve been willing to settle this thing for a long time, but they don’t seem to be willing to,” Leach said. “I think that’s unfortunate. I think all the people there are great. Some of the leadership, at least when I was there, was very sleazy and slimy and dirty. I enjoy naming names on it too, which I might as well. They all know who they are. We should get this thing settled. They should pay me. And we should all celebrate achievements together. But that doesn’t seem to be what they have in mind.”

Leach went on to talk about those documents and an allegedly fraudulent investigation that took place, which I'm assuming pertains to the infamous Adam James incident. He then commented that not only were the people in charge at Texas Tech at the time covering up things pertaining to his firing, but also sexual assault and other things.

“They lied about having an investigation, and then they won’t produce the documents to prove they had an investigation,” Leach said. “It just goes to show you how Kent Hance and some of his little cronies, how sleazy those guys are. So let’s go ahead and see it. And of course, it’s going to illustrate that they lied to the fans and everybody else. And then they continue to hide documents from everything from sexual assault to everything else.”

This is a first-time grenade that has been lobbed amidst the saga of Mike Leach claiming he's owed money. It's been 12 years since he was fired, but if Leach is accurate on sexual assault cover-up during his tenure at Texas Tech, whether it was in the football program or not, does that mean he knew about it for 12 years and said nothing?

Would a sexual assault scandal not incriminate Leach like it incriminated another well-known football coach in the Big 12 in 2016? And to drop the line in a press conference with no evidence to back it up after 12 years?

I know a lot of Red Raiders love Mike Leach for what he did during his time at Texas Tech; I can acknowledge that success. I also acknowledge that Texas Tech didn't handle the firing well in 2009. Mike Leach and the conversation around him has devolved into a love/hate relationship. I think both sides have played a part in where this situation is today. But in the last decade since the courts decided Texas Tech didn't owe Mike Leach, Texas Tech has acted like the bigger man while Mike Leach has hired PR firms and lawyers to fight the so-called injustices he dealt with on his way out of Lubbock without accepting any of the blame for his actions.

I'd love for the pair of Leach and Texas Tech to bury the hatchet and I hope they can before the parties at the heart of the debacle move on completely, but that will never happen if both parties don't make some concessions.

Leach said in his presser that he's ready to settle, but men who are ready to settle don't lob claims of sexual assault cover-up at the parties they want to settle with, and they don't consider the full amount and criminal prosecution settling.

“I think settling for $2.6 (million) is very generous on my part, and the hiding of documents becomes even more disgusting because that shows a level of corruption,” Leach said. “I wouldn’t even rule out some criminal prosecution on the thing. We’ll see how it unfolds.”

We certainly will, Mike.

Hear the Gamblin' Gauchos thought's on Leach, Cumbie and the Liberty Bowl: