Texas Tech Football Coach Mike Leach: Fired Without Warning

Previous posts on this blog have warned against firing an employee without first giving the employee a warning. It’s the fair thing to do. But does an employer always have to give a warning before termination?

No. The recent firing of Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach probably provides a good example. He was first suspended from coaching the football team in the Alamo Bowl after he was accused of twice isolating a player during practice because the player’s doctor had counseled against further play due to a concussion he’d suffered.

An investigation was launched, and Leach sought a restraining order to block his suspension. According to Leach, he was being punished for the lingering anger of school officials toward Leach for protracted, contentious contract extension negotiations after last year’s season. According to Texas Tech, the university determined during the three day period between Leach’s suspension and his termination that the coach had taken actions against the injured player “to demean, humiliate and punish the player.”

It’ll take a while to sort this out. Leach has threatened to sue Texas Tech. Texas Tech may still owe Leach a hefty amount of compensation even if the university acted properly. Cut through the smoke surrounding this mess, however, and it appears the primary issue for consideration is whether Leach abused a player.

The danger of permanent injury caused by football concussions has dominated sports news this year. The old way of telling a player with a concussion to get back out there, play through the pain, suck it up like a man won’t cut it any more. Abusing a player who won’t follow those orders won’t either. If Coach Leach did punish a player who wouldn’t play because he had a concussion, he deserved to be fired. There is some employee conduct so bad that no warning is necessary before termination.