Tech's Leach Defends Signing

MeanGreen61 · February 8, 2006

Jocques Crawford was initially charged with felony aggravated rape but negotiated a plea to the lesser misdemeanor assault charge in juvenile court.

Tech's Leach defends signing

Player charged with misdemeanor deserves chance, coach says

By KEITH WHITMIRE / The Dallas Morning News

LUBBOCK – Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach defended his decision to offer a scholarship to a player who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault in an incident involving a 15-year-old girl.

According to The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., Cordova running back Jocques Crawford was initially charged with felony aggravated rape but negotiated a plea to the lesser misdemeanor assault charge in juvenile court. Cordova spent 23 days in a juvenile detention center after the girl said Crawford, 17, his brother and another teenager forced her to perform oral sex.

"I don't know a great deal about it, but if you cut off everybody who's had a misdemeanor, we'd be short of players," Leach said. "For any team, that would be difficult."

Crawford signed a letter of intent with Texas Tech on Wednesday. He played in only four games his senior season after appealing a semester-long suspension by the Memphis school system.

"It's pretty difficult for me to try him any more than he's already been tried," Leach said. "I don't feel particularly good about denying a guy an opportunity on a misdemeanor alone. If he'd had a couple of misdemeanors or a pattern of them, that's different."

Crawford was at one time ranked the No. 20 running back prospect in the nation by Rivals.com. He said he had offers from Arkansas, Louisville, Mississippi, Mississippi State, North Carolina and Northwestern. However, he said Clemson backed off from recruiting him after his Aug. 16 arrest.

Crawford said Tech had the best program among his offers and that he has family in Texas. He said he still needs to improve his standardized test score and pass his core classes to be eligible to play as a freshman. Otherwise, he will seek enrollment at a prep school.

GangGreen · February 8, 2006

"I don't know a great deal about it, but if you cut off everybody who's had a misdemeanor, we'd be short of players," Leach said.
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Edited February 8, 2006 by GangGreen

Monkeypox · February 9, 2006

I dunno, Mike, maybe cutting it off is a good idea...

... oh, wait.

ADLER · February 10, 2006

I wonder if Mike Leach would have different sentiments if three men forced him to do that.

Seriously, other kids around the country are getting their scholarships pulled because they get caught with a beer or get into a fight, and then you have Mike Leach justifying giving a scholarship to a convicted child raping criminal.

Shame on you Mike Leach. How would you feel if that was YOUR daughter that the three men raped.