Texas Tech Sued over Withholding of Public Records
by Courtney Cameron, Athletic Business, Jan. 2018
A communications firm hired by former Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach to investigate the details of his firing in 2009 has announced its plans to sue the university for withholding public records, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
Wayne Dolcefino, president of Houston-based
Dolcefino Consulting, has accused Texas Tech of withholding documentation of
communications regarding Leach’s contested dismissal, including emails and
phone records, as well as confirmation of expenditures.
In a release, Dolcefino’s attorney, Julie
Pettit of The Pettit Law Firm, stated, “The public — including students,
alumni, and taxpaying citizens — have a legal right to see the emails and
investigative notes surrounding Coach Leach’s improper termination.”
Leach was fired by Texas Tech under
allegations of mistreating a concussed player. Leach later sued for wrongful
termination, claiming that an expected $800,000 bonus due the day after his
dismissal was the real reason for his termination.
A series of appeals brought the original case
to the Texas Supreme Court in 2015, where appeals on both sides were denied.
Leach can now seek a ruling to show that the university denied him due process
at the time of his firing.
Said Dolcefino, “A law that gives a public
school the right to just cheat a coach or a company out of money they are owed
is beneath Texas. Regardless, it is time for the secrecy in Lubbock to end.
What are they afraid the public will see?”
