Mike Leach's Suspension, Mangino, Gundy: Is Big 12 Football Getting Soft?

Lubbock, Tex.—It was announced today that Texas Tech has suspended Head Coach Mike Leach—who has presided over arguably the best decade in Red Raider History—indefinitely, pending the outcome of an investigation of alleged mistreatment of one of his players.

The university is also looking into his ban of his players' use of Twitter and Facebook. 

Additionally, he may have told his players that their lack of focus, in light of a loss to Texas A&M, was due to listening to their "fat little girlfriends."

Therefore, on behalf of "fat little girlfriends" everywhere, the administration at Texas Tech is joining the Big 12 and the NCAA's push toward the conference being a more "sensitive" league.

First Mike Gundy—head coach at Oklahoma State—came under fire a couple of years ago for calling out Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman who wrote an article discussing Bobby Reid, the former starting quarterback, and reasons why he might have been demoted to second-string. 

We all remember Gundy's tirade—“I'm a man, I'm 40!”—but he also came under fire and was called a sexist for the episode.

Ultimately, Oklahoma State's AD, Mike Holder, stood behind Gundy, but there was pressure to fine, suspend, or fire him for the "insensitive" comments.

Then, there was Dez Bryant, an All-American who was ruled ineligible this year after lying to the NCAA when he was asked if he had visited Deon Sanders' home.

Not that lying about a non-NCAA infraction is OK, but I'm also not sure it necessitated the death penalty for the junior wide receiver.

Then there was Kansas' Mark Mangino, who was forced to resign earlier this season because he "verbally" abused a player.  Another Mangino player was quoted as saying, "I wasn't ready to be challenged, and I wanted to go home but the coaches challenged me."  

Those bastards! How dare they challenge these young men to be better?

That is apparently the sentiment of Craig James—former NFL player and current ESPN analyst—father of Adam James, the Texas Tech player who has alleged the mistreatment by Leach.

All of the details are not known and more information is sure to follow.  With consideration to who the kid's father is you can expect ESPN to "dig" deep into Leach's transgressions, and he will undoubtedly be made to look like the devil himself.

Perhaps he has crossed a line, but you have to wonder if that line isn't getting closer and closer to the little league version of competition, where we just stop keeping score.

After another couple of beatdowns at the hands of the SEC—UGA pounded Texas A&M 44-20 in the Advocare Independence Bowl—and maybe that's what the BigSoft (B12) is hoping for?

The suspension of Leach seems funny coming from the school that gave "The General," Bobby Knight, a second chance after his verbally abusive, ultra-disciplinarian tactics got him canned as the head basketball coach at Indiana.

But hey, that was basketball, you know, the "non-contact" sport!  

Update on Leach Story: