FIRED COACH DENIES ALLIGATIONS

In his first interview since being fired as coach of Texas Tech, Mike Leach denied reports that he had mistreated the sophomore receiver Adam James after James sustained a concussion. Leach said in a 38-minute phone interview late Thursday that James acted as if he were entitled to special treatment and that he was lazy. He also said the player and his family’s claims of mistreatment were the result of bitterness over a lack of playing time. Leach said that he felt that James’s father, Craig James, tried to leverage his position as an ESPN analyst to get more playing time for his son. It has been widely reported that Leach locked Adam James in a closet or a shed after James sustained a concussion at a practice last month. Leach said he only ordered James to be taken “out of the light” and did not know specifically where he had been taken. “I was busy coaching practice,” Leach said. (NYtimes.com)