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West Legal Education CLE on "Guns Up! Legal Issues Surrounding the Firing of Texas Tech Head Football Coach Mike Leach"

By Rick Karcher, Michael McCann, Geoffrey Rapp, Greg Skidmore, and Howard Wasserman

Rick and I are hosting an on-line 1-credit continuing legal education tomorrow (Wednesday January 27) from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern Time with West Legal Center to discuss the assorted legal implications of Mike Leach's firing. A number of us on Sports Law Blog have discussed the Mike Leach firing. Here is West's description of the CLE:

On December 28, 2009, Leach was suspended indefinitely by Texas Tech pending investigation of alleged inappropriate treatment of a player. School officials gave Leach an ultimatum--apologize to James in writing by December 28 or Leach would be suspended. Leach refused to do so. Leach immediately sought an injunction that would allow him to coach in the 2010 Alamo Bowl. However, on December 30, Texas Tech fired Leach, calling his refusal to apologize to James "a defiant act of insubordination." On January 8, Leach formally filed suit against Texas Tech for wrongful termination. He claimed that school officials not only fired him without cause, but issued defamatory statements in a willful attempt to keep him from being hired elsewhere.

Rick Karcher and Michael McCann will take you into the world of high profile employment and sports contracts. They will provide an update on the controversy and offer analysis on the upcoming legal process.

For more on Wednesday's CLE, click here. It should be a good event and we hope to keep it interesting and informative.

Full post as published by Sports Law Blog on January 26, 2010 (boomark / email).