Virtue rewarded: Texas Tech 41-Michigan State 31

           Nice to see the Texas Tech Red Raiders come out on top tonight, 41-31 over the Spartans of Michigan State. Texas Tech risked losing a bowl game and perhaps a recruiting class when they fired coach Mike Leach for mistreating a player who had suffered a concussion in practice. For a big time football power like Tech, that was a strong statement for ethical behavior.

Coach Leach gave interviews to the New York Times and the Associated Press in which he denied ordering the injured player, Adam James, to be locked up in a dark place, but his account was refuted by trainer Steve Pincock, who signed an affidavit attesting that Coach Leach had directed him “to lock his [obscenity] in a place so dark that [series of obscenities].

So—unless there’s a massive conspiracy to frame Leach, it appears that he is guilty of lying, in addition to abusing an injured player. Hooray for Tech in acting boldly and ethically to fire him, even on the eve of a bowl game.But save a tear for Spartan coach Mark Dantonio, who suspended twelve players and fired two more for a campus brawl in December. Like the Tech authorities, he placed decent behavior above winning.

Winning isn't the only thing, not at Texas Tech

It’s always noteworthy when a University that places high value on its football program opts for good behavior even at the possible cost of a game (or more). That’s why this column made such a fuss over Oregon Ducks football coach Chip Kelly when he suspended his star running back for sucker punching an opposing player who was taunting him after a Ducks loss in their season opener.

Now we want to give three cheers for Texas Tech, who suspended football coach Mike Leach on the eve of Saturday’s big Alamo Bowl Game against Michigan State. Leach is accused of punishing a player who suffered a concussion in practice.

 A source close to the player’s family told ESPN that he sustained a concussion on Dec. 16, was examined on Dec. 17 and told not to practice because of the concussion and an elevated heart rate. The source said Coach 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." According to the source, Leach told the trainer, two days later, to "put [James] in the darkest, tightest spot. It was in an electrical closet, again, with a guard posted outside."

The suspension will surely be litigated, and we’re not sure yet what all the facts are. What’s clear and indisputable, however, is that Texas Tech, occasionally maligned as a football factory, places player safety and ethical behavior above winning. Here’s hoping their first reward is a win over the Spartans Saturday in the Alamo Bowl.