Texas Tech Trainer, Physician Disagreed With James' Treatment

Texas Tech athletic trainer Steve Pincock did not agree with Mike Leach's treatment of receiver Adam James after all.

In an affidavit obtained by the Associated Press Saturday, Pincock says he told James he was "sorry" for having to place him in an equipment room near the field while he recovered from symptoms of a mild concussion during last month's preparation for the Valero Alamo Bowl.

Pincock talked with Texas Tech officials Dec. 21 and told them he did not agree with that "form of treatment for anyone" and that Leach "wanted James to be uncomfortable."

That is very different from the picture Leach and his representatives have tried to paint in the last two days. Leach's representatives released a letter Friday that seemed to contradict James' account that he was secluded in a dark equipment shed one day in practice and then the following practice placed in an electrical closet while his teammates practiced. Leach was said to have to have ordered the trainers to find the darkest place possible to place James, the son of former SMU star running back and current ESPN college football analyst Craig James, as a means of punishment.

Leach was fired with cause Wednesday in part because of his treatment of James and also for insubordination after filing suit against the school upon being placed under suspension Monday.

Pincock has not commented publicly about the ordeal and was with the Red Raiders as they prepared to meet Michigan State on Saturday night in the Alamo Bowl.

Neither Leach nor his attorney Ted Liggett returned phone calls and text messages from FanHouse seeking comment Saturday.

In addition to Pincock, team physician Dr. Michael Phy also had issues with Leach's methods when it came to the treatment of James. According to the Associated Press story, Phy told school officials that James "may not have been harmed" but he "considered this practice inappropriate."

Leach and his representatives have taken issue with claims James was placed in a shed and electrical closet since the reports first surfaced last week. They said that James was moved into sports medicine garage during practice Dec. 17 so that he could observe game preparation without being in the direct glare of the sun after he showed up for practice in street clothes and wearing dark sunglasses. Then on Dec. 19, he was placed in a media interview room that is as "big as a two-car garage" near the stadium to observe practice.

But other accounts of the ordeal had Leach order Pincock to find the darkest and tightest areas for James to be placed, not allowing the player to sit or lean as he watched practice.

Since being fired Wednesday, Leach has gone on television and been critical of the school and the James family. He has described Adam James as lazy and problem player while saying that Craig James was a controlling, overbearing father who badgered the staff for increased playing time for his son.

Leach also has said the school's issues with him go back to last year's extension negotiations following the Red Raiders 11-2 season -- a program-best -- when it seemed that the two might part ways. Leach eventually signed a five-year $12.7 million dollar deal in February. But by firing Leach with cause on Wednesday, the school avoided having to pay him an $800,000 bonus due Thursday.

Leach, a law school graduate, is preparing to file suit against Texas Tech to either get his job back or receive the remainder of his contract.