Pac-12 clears Washington State coach Mike Leach of abuse claims

The Pac-12 has cleared Washington State and coach Mike Leach of abuse charges.

In a not-so-stunning announcement, the Pac-12’s independent investigation of abuse claims by former wide receiver Marquess Wilson showed that the coaching staff had done nothing wrong.

In November, Wilson sent a letter to his hometown newspaper accusing Leach and the Washington State staff of physical and verbal abuse and cited those reasons for abruptly quitting the team.

However, he recanted those comments to WSU athletic director Bill Moos in a text message after various reports surfaced that he had been demoted from his starting role for having a bad attitude.

In December, Moos put out a press release saying the school had absolved the coaching staff of any wrongdoing that he was confident the Pac-12, which did its own independent investigation, would do the same.

In the Pac-12’s report, Wilson said he would have used a different word than abuse and that his mother and his stepfather gave him “ideas” on verbiage to use in the letter.

Look, attach the word “abuse” to Mike Leach and it immediately piques attention, and Wilson’s family knew that. Apparently, the things Leach and his staff did to Wilson were no worse than what any other football player endures and Wilson’s attitude didn’t make things any better.

This is probably something Leach is going to have to be cognizant of for the rest of his career, but let’s hope it doesn’t change the way he approaches coaching in the future.

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