ESPN college football writer Bruce Feldman was suspended indefinitely during a conference call with three ESPN officials this morning.
ESPN Vice President and Director of News Vince Doria, ESPN THE MAGAZINE Editor-in-Chief & ESPN Books Editorial Director Gary Hoenig, and ESPN.com Editor-in-Chief Pat Stiegman participated in the conference call and were behind the decision to punish Feldman.
Doria, Hoenig and Stiegman informed Feldman today that he has been banned from writing for any ESPN entity, is forbidden from appearing on any ESPN platform, is not allowed to Tweet from his Twitter account nor participate in any promotion of a recently-released book in which Feldman played a role.
Well before Mike Leach was terminated by Texas Tech in late 2009, Feldman had agreed in principle to assist the coach in compiling material for a Leach biography. That biography, in which Feldman was mostly charged with recording Leach’s first-person account of his life, was released this week with the title, Swing Your Sword.
Because of Leach’s acrimonious departure from Texas Tech, which allegedly stemmed from complaints about the coach’s alleged treatment of the son of ESPN college football analyst Craig James, Feldman’s participation in Swing Your Sword was not initially assured.
Multiple management and editorial sources at ESPN have told me in recent months that Feldman would only participate in the Leach book project upon direct approval from ESPN management - which Feldman indeed received.
Since the book was released on Monday, Feldman has deliberately avoided any personal promotion or mention of the Leach book. (You will find no mention of the book on Feldman’s Twitter account and ESPN blog.)
Despite those facts, Feldman was told by ESPN executives Doria, Hoenig and Stiegman today that he was being suspended indefinitely for his participation in the Leach book.
6:15 pm on July 14th, 2011
Unless ESPN really spins this (and even if they do, to an extent). This could result in some big moves at ESPN. They obviously are oblivious to their online image. Their responses to events like this were acceptable ten, maybe five years ago. Today? Reflects pretty poorly on your organization.
6:19 pm on July 14th, 2011
Appears ESPN is taking the obama approach. Putin would be proud.
6:29 pm on July 14th, 2011
Very sensitive crew over at the borderline monopolistic ESPN
6:46 pm on July 14th, 2011
HE gets suspended and Craig James stays? ESPN is crazy. I hope he sues the pants off of them. He did exactly what he was told and gets suspended for it but Craig James can spew lies ON TV and out and about and nothing happens? I hope Leach and Feldman (if he sues) win their cases and the big cheeses at ESPN go down for this. This is just plain nuts.
6:47 pm on July 14th, 2011
wow…Bruce’s pretty much the best espn offers in way of writer/blogger/contributor. He’s truly a mensch.
Unsurprising however. Espn just sucks. Down with the mouse!
6:48 pm on July 14th, 2011
So is/was Craig James worth the inevitable lawsuit that is coming?
6:52 pm on July 14th, 2011
idiots suspended the wrong guy.should’ve fired Craig James! that guy is an asshole!!
6:53 pm on July 14th, 2011
Moves like this is why I’m starting to hate espn. Craig James is a Tool!
6:56 pm on July 14th, 2011
If he received permission from management to be involved in the book, what is he suspended for?
7:02 pm on July 14th, 2011
Craig James is a crybaby, he used ESPN to be his tool to get a Leach, all for what, he should be gone.I hope Leach comes back stronger than ever and James is gone.
7:04 pm on July 14th, 2011
all them stupid no football knowing bitches need to be fired,why does espn hire guys to talk college football,that was never any good on the team he played on,atleast get someone that knows football,and dont just pull for the teams that carry the state name,espn should have a complete overhaul,
7:05 pm on July 14th, 2011
CJ is a pompous ass anyone who is a college football fan can see that. what some people seem to forget about Leach is that he is a very intelligent lawyer. might not come across as the most likeable guy but what good coach does. ESPN is going to come away from this with a black eye, at least I hope so.
7:06 pm on July 14th, 2011
Can someone explain this to me? Not quite sure he is suspended.
7:20 pm on July 14th, 2011
@Ray… Are you referring to James? While he is kind of a tool and Stepped waaaay out of bounds in that while deal, he had a pretty good career at SMU and New England. Heck, he was the last white player to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season, until Peyton Hillis did it last year. When was the last time you rushed for 1000yards in anything?
7:27 pm on July 14th, 2011
Geez! this is crazy
7:32 pm on July 14th, 2011
Whitlock is saddlin up!
7:38 pm on July 14th, 2011
So, I’m gonna go ahead and assume that ESPN pays Craig James more…and because James was upset about the book, ESPN had to accommodate the whiny little b1tch. How many more people will Craig James and his whiny no talent son get fired for something the boy did to himself? Craig helped destroy SMU and his little brat destroyed Leech and now Craig wants more? Both are lying punks and the sports world would be much better off without them.
Bruce Feldman is really one of the good, honest, best college football writers out there. This is a total bush league move by ESPN and by Craig James.
7:50 pm on July 14th, 2011
@Madmike.. OJ Simpson once ran for 2,000 yards. He had a great career at USC and Buffalo. Heck, he held the record for most yards in a season for, like, forever. When was the last time you ran for 2,000 yards in anything… or were black? Idiot.
7:50 pm on July 14th, 2011
Craig James is a piss ant and espn is not far behind.
7:51 pm on July 14th, 2011
So, the Forde-Pitino alliance is OK? No punishment there. I don’t get it.
7:57 pm on July 14th, 2011
Felman’s blog rocks! They’re making a big mistake. My page views are going to dramatically decline.
We’ll miss you Bruce.
8:00 pm on July 14th, 2011
James was a little bit better than knucklehead ray remembers. He was never accused of any wrongdoing at SMU.
———————————————
“James attended Stratford High School in Houston, Texas, where he was a star on Stratford’s 1978 Texas class 4A championship football team, setting the single-season Texas 4A rushing record with 2,411 yards gained in 15 games. James, a running back, also attended Southern Methodist University where he and teammate Eric Dickerson formed what was known as the “Pony Express” backfield (SMU’s mascot is the mustang). In the 1980 Holiday Bowl, James’ offensive production of 225 rushing yards and 9.9 yards/carry were both Holiday Bowl records that stood for 13 and 15 years respectively. In 1982, he scored on a 96-yard touchdown reception to set a new record as the longest scoring play in Southwest Conference history]”
8:08 pm on July 14th, 2011
Craig James is an ass and ESPN sucks. Didn’t think it was possible for ESPN to screw this James story up more than they already have.
8:18 pm on July 14th, 2011
Rob, Feldman has been suspended, not fired (cross our fingers and hope that doesn’t happened). He hasn’t left…yet.
I sure as hell would like to know did Feldman get suspended for the information and the excerpts that Leach released to the public earlier this week, or was there something else that Feldman did, involving, the book that ESPN might have freaked out about.
8:19 pm on July 14th, 2011
Feldman is an employee. His employers have every right to suspend him with pay or terminate his services at will. He has no basis for a lawsuit. I’ll bet none of the blue-collar posters above have sued after they were let go.
8:34 pm on July 14th, 2011
Typical greed, influence and corporate move. Craig James is a f**kstick.
8:38 pm on July 14th, 2011
Milteer -
You’re not familiar with the phrase, “Wrongful Termination” are you?
If he is infact terminated for something documented and labled “A-Ok” by ESPN, he’s got grounds for a case.
Not saying he’d win, but he’d have a case.
8:44 pm on July 14th, 2011
Everybody, buy the book, “Swing Your Sword”. You know Feldman must have a financial stake in it. Plus, everyone will have the facts at hand if this heats up. Lots of e-mails in there with James’ Spaeth Communications PR firm (her insurance carrier has already notified her they would NOT cover her in the lawsuit) … to Joe Schad ‘exculsive’ reports; BEFORE James complained to Tech.
But also, just a great story and read for ANY college football lover.
9:05 pm on July 14th, 2011
He hasn’t been terminated. There’s no way ESPN took any action until both its inside and outside counsel were consulted. The deal’s airtight. Just like Leach’s lawsuit, Feldman’s could be considered frivolous.
9:12 pm on July 14th, 2011
Spaeth … pseunonyms .. are hitting the boards again, in full force. I’m calling Ken out.
Feldmans (Leach’s) book cronicles ALL this with the actual e-mails outling how to hit the boards to favor the James’ story.
If enough of the football world buys this book, ESPN won’t be able to stand the pressure. Guys, don’t let Craig James win this one.
9:22 pm on July 14th, 2011
Serves Feldman right. That crackpot Leach is suing everyone under the sun including Feldman’s employer ESPN. How stupid is Feldman for getting himself involved with a coach who has proven over time to alienate everyone he works for? Hell, Leach’s players all hated him too.
Not only will Leach never have another major college job, but because of him Feldman’s career is likely over too.
Lesson to others out there: Stay away from Leach. He’s clearly trouble and will take you down with him.
9:27 pm on July 14th, 2011
Yeah, Craig James, he, who so piously stood in front of his congregation to tell how pure and holy he’s been.
Sure, going to church makes you a christian about as much as going to a car wash makes you a car.
This pious dirt bag played as big a role as any in his alma mater, SMU, receiving the death penalty
9:35 pm on July 14th, 2011
what i see is the top brass gave the ok without looking at it. if people notice BF got the ok from espn prior to the book. just like anything else he rights. they have scripts over their at espn that they have to follow. as brooks has pointed out before not one word negative about their financial interest in college football. no mercy for BF for lack of truth in his word on ESPN.
9:35 pm on July 14th, 2011
How long will this cesspool of narcissistic, unbearable men (and a few women) wallow in their delusion that the public does not see the truth in their actions against Mike Leach?
9:35 pm on July 14th, 2011
I guess there are a few posters here from that PR thing Mike Leach paid for called “Team Leach”. I know you spin doctors are just doing your job, but try not to sound so blatant.
Leach wasn’t fired because of the James kid, nor was his termination “wrongful”. Leach was terminated because of the way he handled the James situation after Tech’s administrators approached him about it. The rumor is he told his chancellor to “F Off” when Leach was instructed to accept a strict policy on how to deal with players who have concussions.
Leach got himself fired because he was insubordinate, not because of Adam James. Hell, if he had just agreed to Tech’s policy instead of being an ass he would still be coaching there. Leach has no one to blame but himself for being fired, and now he’s apparently taking others down with him.
9:41 pm on July 14th, 2011
Mike Leach is a nutcase. He sues everyone then wonders why he can’t get a job anywhere.
TTech should have fired him 5 years ago but instead kept giving him raises for losing 4 games a year and not winning even a single championship.
Hard to believe anyone would be stupid enough to screw up a sweet deal of making $3 million a year for winning 7 or 8 games a year, but Leach did it. I think he needs to take an “Ego Management” class unless he wants to end up living under a bridge.
9:44 pm on July 14th, 2011
@ Ken, @ Bart C., @ WuzBig12NowBig10,
I rest my case.
9:49 pm on July 14th, 2011
From Court documents:
“Hance told Leach that the BOR Chair and Vice-chair were in favor of suspension or termination and that Hance was hoping for a reprimand or fine, but that Leach would have to work with him. Ex. N 87; Ex. P 146. Leach responded by saying that “they could all go f—- themselves;” that he had done nothing wrong and wasn’t going to put up with it; that he would hire private investigators to investigate the board; and that he was going to “ruin” them if they played this way. Ex. N 87-88″
9:59 pm on July 14th, 2011
Raidermom,
The problem is that the general public outside of Lubbock isn’t paying attention to the details of the case. All they hear is the propaganda from ESPN and Tech and they make their perceptions off of that.
I’d like to see Coach Leach swing back and hit them in the mouth, but by now it sure seems like they’ve won and anything Coach does just makes him look bitter. It’s so wrong.
10:00 pm on July 14th, 2011
And always remember, more than $2 per month of your cable/satellite bill goes to ESPN!
10:00 pm on July 14th, 2011
Oh good. The PR team can get some overtime tonight by spamming message boards. Do you guys send your bill to Craig James or ESPN?
10:01 pm on July 14th, 2011
I almost wonder if this is a mutually-agreed-to ploy - not so much a punishment as a way to make absolutely certain he doesn’t talk about it even by accident, or maybe Feldman even agreed to it as a publicity stunt for the book.
10:09 pm on July 14th, 2011
Raidermom, tuche’! Some choice bits of depositions are in the book as well. The F**k-off one is a perfect example per Hance’s. That was never said. The Spaeth e-mails specificily talk about the pseunonyms on the blogs, and you can now recognize them by their outlines (talking points), of which the F**K-off is one.
I think the Dallas Morning News has most all of the e-mails and depositions — they include Nancy and Craig James’, Charloette Bingham Tech Legal Counsel) absolving Coach Leach of wrong doing, etc. Other than that, the book IS good …. lots of good good college football in there.
10:17 pm on July 14th, 2011
Settling all these lawsuits will take years. In the meantime, Leach twiddles his thumbs on college talk radio commenting on anything and everything. All the top jobs are now going to experienced assistants. If he get a Sun Belt job, he’d be lucky.
10:18 pm on July 14th, 2011
My problem, or advantage, is that I find, read, analyze, and judge the merits of information published… by myself. The truth is obvious if you have the time to investigate for yourself.
10:19 pm on July 14th, 2011
@Bob:
The DMN does have all the depositions but they never absolved Leach of any wrong doing or stated anything of the sort.
And again, Leach got fired because of how he handled the Adam James situation, not because of the situation itself. When you blatantly ignore what your employer asks you to do to avoid a PR nightmare, it’s insubordination. If you or I did the same thing at our jobs, we would be fired too.
Leach is probably the world’s most popular 8-4 coach, but that doesn’t make him someone who is a desirable employee. There is a reason why no one had any interest in hiring him either before or after he was dumped at Texas Tech.
10:30 pm on July 14th, 2011
Don’t be ridiculous MorganWick. Bruce wouldn’t pull a bush league stunt like that for a minute. He IS unquestionably the best college football writer in the business — he stands nothing to gain by this.
10:35 pm on July 14th, 2011
RaiderMom really. You work for Spaeth, we see who you are.
10:44 pm on July 14th, 2011
I’ll bet this was not in the book.
http://espn.go.com/blog/big12/post/_/id/1783/demoted-wr-britton-getting-frozen-out-by-leach
11:02 pm on July 14th, 2011
C James: Hyper insecure
A James: Annoying Brat
ESPN: Marketing over truth for the sake of $$$
Leach: Ego stronger than common sense
Tech Admins: Tired of the ego-driven child and didn’t use the best of parenting skills
Tech Fans Group A: Anti-establishment cult goes with Leach and believes they will become real pirates
Tech Fans Group B: Loyal to the University and embraces Hocutt.
Tuberville: In a hard spot, but recruiting the daylights out of past Tech Coaches
Current Players: Don’t deserve the distraction
In my opinion, Tech was the perfect storm for Leach to thrive and build a name for himself. It wasn’t all Leach’s brilliance, and you have to give the university some credit in feeding the success and having creative students that help build the attraction. Tech gave Leach a really long rope for 10 years and it became a successful brand. But the success got wrapped around the axle and the rope ended up hanging several folks. If there is a point that everyone can agree on, it’s that parents need to let coaches coach and stop babying their kids.
11:03 pm on July 14th, 2011
love how ESPN still loves to employ reverse-racists like Howard Bryant, Jalen Rose, etc.
11:08 pm on July 14th, 2011
Bruce Feldman wrote a fantastic ESPN Insider article 12/29/2010 about how Sugar Bowl CEO Paul Hoolahan lobbied Ohio State to allow Terrelle Pryor, Dan Herron, et al to play in the Sugar Bowl against Arkansas. He is one of ESPN’s greatest journalistic resources.
On the flip side, if ESPN parted company with Craig James tomorrow, I suspect that very few people would care. Yet it’s Feldman who gets the business end of this one?
Feldman has been with ESPN since July 1994 for the old ESPNET (remember that?), but apparently he’s not tenured enough to avoid an apparently unwarranted indefinite suspension.
11:10 pm on July 14th, 2011
I’m sure a lot of potential employers are salivating over getting BF.
I hope that BF turns around, drops his pants, and tells them to kiss his *** before he quits and walks out the door!
11:14 pm on July 14th, 2011
Nice… #FreeBruce on Twitter is out trending Harry freeking Potter. Every sportswriter in the industry is going to hammer ESPN on this one. Bad move by ESPN, they are getting what they deserve on this one.
11:18 pm on July 14th, 2011
Feldman’s contract will contain a non-compete clause that will be hard to break. ESPN’s attorneys are slightly more intelligent than the majority of the Save Leachers on this blog.
11:50 pm on July 14th, 2011
HuH? Craig JAme$ can lie and frame Mike Leach and ESPN stands behind that BUT they lower the suspension boom on Bruce Feldman for helping Leach tell the truth about what really happened? What a freaking joke ESPN News and Editorial operations have become! They are blithering idiots without a shred of integrity.
12:07 am on July 15th, 2011
Sounds like Will S. needs to read the depositions and pleadings and see if he can understand them. Probably outside the realm of possibility but worth a shot.
12:16 am on July 15th, 2011
Todd is another knucklehead that can’t understand depositions and pleadings. When Leach sent James to the storage shed, he violated his contract, plain and simple. Read it if you know how.
12:34 am on July 15th, 2011
Gotta love the Spaeth propaganda machine at work on here and other news sites - you can easily identify them by the comments they make that contradict emails sent by TTech administrators and Craig James that are in the Appendix of the Leach book. They just continue to look like the biggest idiots in the world. No legitimate PR firm would have ever dreamed of taking on the pile of lies and deceit that Craig James has been known for ever since he served as a prime torpedo in the sinking of SMU football in the 80s.
12:34 am on July 15th, 2011
What is ESPN thinking? Looks like they feel they are a monopoly and can control what is and isn’t said in all of the sports world. BTW, Auburn did nothing wrong
12:34 am on July 15th, 2011
Craig James was never accused of any wrongdoing in the SMU scandal and was actually cleared by the NCAA.
1:08 am on July 15th, 2011
This world we live in is so politically correct it’s sickening. All this started with the firing of Jimmy the Greek. What he said about blacks being bigger, faster, and stronger, because of the slave trade is a 100% true statement. First of all it took the absolute strongest to just survive the trip. Then after getting here only the biggest strongest with the beat teeth were bread. No one is saying this behavior is proper, but it is 100% accurate to what happend. I was pissed that we allowed that because I only knew we as a country were going down hill fast! Now this weak assed crap when is America going to unite to put an end to this unfair treatment of people just for speaking the truth. What ever happened to the freedom of speech. It all makes me sick!!!
1:18 am on July 15th, 2011
Not knowing all the facts, and not wanting to judge without all the facts, it’s difficult for reporters to report effectively when their news organization is involved in the story. Because of its size, ESPN is involved in too many stories for its reporters to be able to report without bias: The Decision is almost a textbook case of this principle.
1:57 am on July 15th, 2011
I think Leach probably was in-subordinate due to ego but that’s probably true of at least 10% of the coaches out there. Even the president of THE Ohio St was grateful his coach didn’t fire him. I think Craig James was a cheater at THE SMU then used his standing to get a Univ president to push someone they knew would push back and then they could save 3 million a year. ESPN stands behind athlete with name recognition and fires journalist they apparently think is too smart for them. But you will notice a lot of people who were/are scum bags have jobs on several of the networks as sports announcers or color commentators because they have name recognition. Now days that matters more than any journalistic ability. Entertainment is what 1st letter in ESPN has always stood for and you know how much the Entertainment industry has to do with morals and integrity BUT apparently they get to be judge and jury cause they got the microphone and the money.
3:57 am on July 15th, 2011
1. Leach is a very intelligent guy.
2.He is an attorney; so;
3. He isn’t going to write books containing this sort of information unless it is based on fact unless;
4. He is insane, and I listen to him every day and that is not my assessment.
6:55 am on July 15th, 2011
ESPN joins MSNBC as twin kings of media bias.
8:11 am on July 15th, 2011
It’s all George Bushes fault…
8:30 am on July 15th, 2011
ESPN is turning into a joke.
8:43 am on July 15th, 2011
Bottom line: Feldman received approval from his higher-ups about the book. What — they’re SURPRISED leach took shots at james? man ….
9:03 am on July 15th, 2011
It’s pretty obvious that ESPN likely told Feldman to discontinue his relationship with Leach after Leach sued the network. Feldman may not have followed orders and this is the result. We don’t have too many professionals posting here
9:12 am on July 15th, 2011
Leach is an attorney but doesn’t render legal advice or represent clients in legal proceedings. Therefore, he’s free so write or say anything or everything whether it is factual or not.
9:22 am on July 15th, 2011
I’ll bet Bob attended the Save Leach rally where “thousands” were expected and only a few showed up to listen to Leach over a defective PA system.
9:32 am on July 15th, 2011
Annoyingly paranoid antics. Ugly. They are really doing a disservice to not only themselves, but the James family by drawing more attention to the matter than would have been otherwise. This thing would have blown over in about 3 days tops. Now they are the butt of the joke, and the James family is the set-up line. I like Craig James. Always have. If I were him, I’d be getting them to end the idiocy ASAP.
9:33 am on July 15th, 2011
Well it looks like the Spaeth Communications team has now been commisioned to go after Bruce Feldman. How many men does the Texas Tech Admins. and Board of Regents want to ruin?
Some e-mails and court documents in the book spell out the plans for all the pseudonyms on these boards. Read them, and you too can spot them.
And yes, Charolette Bingham, in sworn documents presented to the courts, absolved Coach Leach of wrong doing. And, she is legal counsel for Kent Hance’s office. (Auburn couldn’t get away with their boosters, Board and Admins. illegally interfering with the football program).
Why the NCAA or SACA is not involved I don’t know. Cozy relationships between the ever flowing ADs, Conferences, and NCAA brass, perhaps?
Is Texas Tech going after Michael Lewis next?
It also seems Vince Diora and Kent Hance are fraternity brothers. Boy, you can’t make this stuff up!
Texas Tech was once a unique school with a unique coach and unique fans, and everybody knows everything unique is special. Now, all that is left that is unique or special is the fans .. and we support Coach Leach and will follow him anywhere he goes.
Still, congradulations to all the “Swing Your Sword” readers ………. Lots of good football stuff in there!
9:40 am on July 15th, 2011
I like that some people assume that ESPN did nothing wrong because they can hire the best lawyers. Many large companies knowingly skirt the rules because they have the best lawyers and think that they can get away with it. Also, it is clear that Milteer knows nothing about the situation and is speculating about what is in the contract between Feldman and ESPN. I could see viable scenarios in which ESPN can discipline Feldman or Feldman has a case against ESPN for his suspension.
9:42 am on July 15th, 2011
Fire Mark May!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
9:44 am on July 15th, 2011
ESPN and Craig James should both be tossed into a vat of boiling oil as neither party can tell the truth withiut prefixing it with bald faced lies and untrue innuendoes. Craig, especially as he has never fessed up about all of the under the table “benefits” that he received at SMU– and that he has parlaid his “name” into a media broadcasting spot, which most people agree that he is a dismal failure. His son, just like his dad is also a chronic liar and an athletic failure. And for ESPN, other than The New York Times, has any publication demonstrated more bias and obvious favoritism.
9:47 am on July 15th, 2011
JAMES SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIRED MONTHS AGO.
9:51 am on July 15th, 2011
Craig James is a bitch, and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. espn is really backing the wrong horse, and will suffer for it.
10:00 am on July 15th, 2011
You’ll note Leach has had zero interest from ANY school since being fired. Why is that? The reason is that all the other NCAA FBS schools are afraid he’ll continue along the same path and will sue them if he’s reprimanded over anything at all.
10:06 am on July 15th, 2011
I like the guy who said “there aren’t many professionals on this board.” Don’t you you mean butt-kiss, company men or women who have no personal integrity? How many of us have worked with tools like that? Too many.
10:09 am on July 15th, 2011
ESPN has been going down hill for the last 10 years. They are the joke of televised sports. MLB Network, NFL Network, Dan Patrick have all taken a majority of their viewing audiences. They will never be what they once were…the only round the clock sports show. Too many better shows and options for us to have to tune in and listen to their shouting “experts” any longer. Besides the actual sporting events, everything else is just bad.
10:41 am on July 15th, 2011
Whatever Craig James has on one of the “three stooges” at ESPN, it must be pretty powerful. He has no talent, no charisma, never admitted that he took money while at SMU, and is the ultimate helicopter parent. James used his position at ESPN to help get Mike Leach fired.
Worse yet, Leach has been blackballed for having the “nerve” to fight his unjust firing and for attempting to collect a rather large financial debt that is owed to him.
The wrong person got fired that day, and the wrong person got suspended yesterday. ESPN should fire Craig James right now while they can still pretend to practice “objective journalism.”
10:43 am on July 15th, 2011
let’s see, james was there during the smu scandal, gets a coach fired, keeps his job at espnsucks, no telling what else and the author is the bad guy? time to say bye to espnsucks till they show some character
10:48 am on July 15th, 2011
ESPN is acting like some of the athletes they cover and whom they criticize. They have become so powerful that they think they can behave badly…maybe even shamefully, and get away with it. Why did Brett Favre what he did…because he felt “bullet proof”. So ESPN does something indefensible and for the same reason.
10:49 am on July 15th, 2011
Craig James was wrong in college, and is wrong now.
He should have kept his nose out of his Sons playing days. He is the one responsible for the whoie mess.
Another “dug-out dad”.
10:53 am on July 15th, 2011
Leach got himself fired. The incident involving Adam James was not the first instance of inappropriate treatment of players. Leach has even said his YouTube locker-room rant is keeping him from getting a coaching job. When’s the last time Saban wore an elephant suit or Mack Brown donned a set of longhorns? Yet, Leach wore pirate garb?
11:07 am on July 15th, 2011
Red doesn’t understand chain-of-command, employer-employee relationships or contracts with provisions encompassing those concepts. Most garbage-truck workers are the same rank.
11:22 am on July 15th, 2011
Pat Forde needs to be next. UCF should go after Forde for the slander piece he wrote, which was all based on “hearsay”.
11:25 am on July 15th, 2011
What a bunch of pr-icks at ESPN!!! They approve his participation and then fire him after he works on the book? What a joke. Feldman is one of their best writers.
And for those who haven’t read the depositions of Adam Jones - the guy admits he lied about the whole ‘electrical shed’ fiasco. Said it was ‘a joke’. Dude went in there against express instructions of the trainer and then taped his bogus little video because he got his little panties in a wad.
Craig James, Adam James and these 3 ESpin jokers all are about equal in the loser category.
11:28 am on July 15th, 2011
Just cancelled my ESPN Insider, when the guy asked why I told him, “Because you suspended Bruce Feldman.” He didn’t really have a response for me.
11:33 am on July 15th, 2011
Not only do I not read, watch or take seriously anything about ESPN, I sold all Disney stock and Mutual funds with Disney (and wrote comments to the funds stating why), becuase irresponsibility and idiotic decision making may permeate through the whole company, and I don’t need the risk.
11:38 am on July 15th, 2011
This was done by the same guy who worked with Karl rove to get John Kerry in 2004 it’s a Fox News thing going on at ESPN
11:39 am on July 15th, 2011
Why ESPN hasn’t fired Craig James, the ultimate slippery character is beyond my comprehension. I turn off every program he appears on. Now after defending James who caused Mike Leach’s termination, they ban Bruce Feldman one of the best writers/reporters for what he had a right to do. What are they thinking?
12:03 pm on July 15th, 2011
http://sportstanker.blogspot.com/
ESPN suspends people left and right anyway
12:07 pm on July 15th, 2011
Re: the handling of the Bruce Feldman situation by ESPN, paraphrasing Clark Griswold “what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, d*ckless, hopeless, heartless, fat-a**, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey sh*t they are! Hallelujah! Holy sh*it! Where’s the Tylenol?”
12:54 pm on July 15th, 2011
All of you “Craig James brought down the SMU football program” idiots need to watch the 30 for 30 documentary “Pony Excess” before running your mouths off on historical events you know nothing about.
12:55 pm on July 15th, 2011
My relatives grew up in the same block and attended Stratford with Craig James and they (along with several of their friends) all testify that James showed up with a brand new Thunderbird after “signing” with SMU. They also said he attributed it as a “perk” and used to joke it was “just another thing that he couldn’t fit” on his letter jacket.
1:07 pm on July 15th, 2011
If there is any Karma in this world, Leach will be justified and be proven correct. The unfortunate thing is Tech is hiding behind soveriegn immunity which is truly chicken-chit.
On the same token, if there is an Karma in this world, CJ and AJ will both be proven to be the little POS they are.
Hey CJ, please run KBH senate seat. I can’t wait to boo your a$$ back to Celina. ESPN should fire your POS right now.
1:29 pm on July 15th, 2011
Craig James was on ESPN recently reminiscing with Eric Dickerson about their days at SMU and reminded him of how when they used to do conditioning work with the team and the two of them would sneak off and hang out in a shed and join back up with the team after they had run around the campus to skirt training. That’s pretty much all I would need to know about his character. I’d like to see him run for office- that would be quality entertainment.
I’m not sure what the S and N mean anymore but I can tell you what the P in ESPN stands for: Pravda.
2:26 pm on July 15th, 2011
ESPN has no journalistic integrity. All they care about is creating stories passed off as news (the messier the better!) to keep viewers tuned in to its programs. Shame on them!
2:46 pm on July 15th, 2011
espn_chris: Love Twitter, but we’ve all just seen its danger: rumor presented as fact. Feldman never suspended. http://es.pn/nODkCj
So this Chris Laplaca guy is calling you a liar Brooks. Response on it’s way?
4:10 pm on July 15th, 2011
Only an idiot ties the Feldman fiasco to Craig James. What, he is Machiavelli? He secretly runs ESPN? He is in charge of budget talks in Washington? Maybe he caused 911? Go back to your crayons and hot wheels and let the adults handle the journalism.
5:42 pm on July 15th, 2011
So Craig voluntarily goes and hides in a shed to avoid practice, and then his son claims to have been locked in a shed while he couldn’t practice? Funny.
5:53 pm on July 15th, 2011
Obviously, “Pirate” is part of the Spaeth Propaganda machine that masquerades as a legitimate PR firm. What a joke. Hope they’re paying you well, Pirate. Nothing you say on here makes sense. Idiot.
5:59 pm on July 15th, 2011
This “Pirate” character on here is a joke - a part of the Spaeth propaganda machine hired by Craig James to clean up his messy lies. Hilarious!
6:00 pm on July 15th, 2011
Too bad Leach was not fired for the “abuse” involving Edward Britton. Then, none of Leach’s spin would be out there.
10:52 pm on July 15th, 2011
Weellll…..its nice to see that the First Amendment, basic fairness and common sense are all alive and well at ESPN.
Talk about custom making a wrongful termination lawsuit. ESPN has done it. It is a real shame to see that the chosen few cannot even stand a little dissent. Just remember that these guys are some of the same geniuses that keep SOME undefeated schools, namely TCU, out of the BCS “Championship” (yeah, right) because they don’t think they have the right “pedigree”, when they clearly don’t look at their own “pedigrees” that they base their inane drivel on. TCU is just one obvious example. The way James manipulated the entire Texas Tech episode with his son is another. Leach was probably wrong in what he did, and James’ son probably didn’t deserve all that he got, but Craig James had NO right or reason to interfere because he happened to be a TV “analyst”.
It is time spoiled brats are removed from the game and replaced with people of character, whether they are QB’s at OSU or Asst. Coaches at Georgia Tech or loud mouthed, formerly decent (but not nearly as good as they think they were) TV “commentators”. The culture of spoiled two year old thinking throughout the college game HAS to be removed. Instead of suspending Mr. Feldman for doing something that 1) is constitutionally protected, 2) he was given permission for and 3) that ESPN could have potentially profited from (had it any business sense what so ever) Craig James, if he is proven to be behind this suspension (duh, ya think?) HE should be suspended for abusing his position on television.
11:20 pm on July 15th, 2011
Wow- This has all the making of a cluster F**k. How can seemingly educated, well meaning folks be so deluded. Craig should have used his influence to get his kid a transfer with no loss of eligibility, instead of formenting such a destructive attack. I don’t watch much ESPN now, and part of that stems from this James-Leach-TT episode. The whole thing smacks of petty, I’ll get you back if it takes the rest of my life, type of focus. Well, the kid is tainted. If he does get to play, he’ll catch every taunt and late hit and dirty play he is close to.How will Daddy Craig respond to that? Each time I see him and remember back to the episode, I get a creepy feeling that CJ just wanted to punish someone. It fell to hit Leach, otherwise CJ would have made a run at TT. What a helicopter dad. Eventually the kid will have to pull on his own strap and make a way for himself. Unfortunate turn of events. Get a life CJ.
12:43 am on July 16th, 2011
ESPN needs to get rid of James and the 3 yahoos that suspended Feldman. What on earth are they thinking? The sheer lunacy behind their action is baffling. It’s obvious from the depositions that James and Baby James were willing tools in the TX TECH administration’s deception.
12:50 am on July 16th, 2011
What’s interesting about the ESPN MediaZone report that Feldman was never suspended, but his workload was under review, is that they say that he has “resumed” writing. How do you “resume” something if you’ve never been suspended. Nice back-tracking by ESPN.
8:15 am on July 16th, 2011
College football is by far my favorite sport. (I’ve been watching it since the early 80’s.) However I’m so sick and tired of ESPN’s ‘candy crack’ journalism and shady reporting. Well I’m boycotting all football games on ESPN this fall. I hope Mike Leach takes you to the cleaners.
9:46 am on July 16th, 2011
Mike Leach takes an average Texas Tech team and makes them a contender for a national championship. Craig James takes payments at SMU and gets his team the death penalty. Then ESPN has to make a choice between the two, and we see which way they go.
9:49 am on July 16th, 2011
I hope Feldman goes after ESPN, he’s been threatened by them to not speak, text or tweet about his participation in the book, wow. I hope they drag Craig James and his loser son threw the mud over such a ridiculous situation. They destroyed Leach’s career and pratically is life and they are doing the same to this guy, not right !!
11:12 am on July 16th, 2011
Get out of the sand box,you C.N.N, executives and start behaving like adults.
11:20 am on July 16th, 2011
James did not receive any payments from SMU. He was never accused of doing so and was cleared by the NCAA report. Brad forgot to check the facts.
12:31 pm on July 16th, 2011
@ Paul
“Appears ESPN is taking the obama approach. Putin would be proud.”
You fucking teabaggers and your obsession with this man, needing to drop his name into any article no matter what the subject. Could you possibly elaborate any further…nah, that’s right, you just take your quick pigeon shit and move on, facts or substantive analysis be damned.
So. fucking. bitter.
12:36 pm on July 16th, 2011
Everyone knows James was entwined in the SMU scandal. Dickerson was clean. SMU knew the only thing they’d be able to keep out of their downfall was the memory of the Pony Express, so they protected James. And whadya know, that’s what most fans of that era remember. A rotten to the core SMU program and the success of the Pony Express.
1:05 pm on July 16th, 2011
You’re right, Bob. I do see “Debogarsky” and “Pirate” popping up on here to perpetuate lies about Leach and defend the James’ at every turn. Anyone who could stomach to defend liars like the James’ - which both father and son admitted in court depositions - has to be getting paid to do it.
Wonder how long it will take them to pop on here again to say nobody’s read the depositions. Hah!
2:11 pm on July 16th, 2011
Feldman is an employee. As long as he remains one, he has to follow orders given to him. You did not see him resign in disgust Thursday. Apparenty he values his paycheck.
2:33 pm on July 16th, 2011
Joe is as dumb as they come.
6:06 pm on July 16th, 2011
an telligent coach get apoint across without hollerlng and! badgering players The rest I dont know about !
6:16 pm on July 16th, 2011
Leach was crying at one time that his YouTube video rant was keeping him from getting a job. It sounds like he comes up with a new reason every time another coach is hired.
10:41 pm on July 16th, 2011
Sebastian …. their baaack … and Spaeth has cloned them……
Debogarskt .. Pirate .. Milteer .. tom Giles. Ones has evolved into HAL
You’ll see some of these same names on other sites too.
This is what Coach Leach and Texas Tech fans and students have had to put up with since the scandal. Now Bruce Feldman??
The sports world and sports writters needs to draw a line in the sand and clean all this up … from ESPN through the NCAA … Conferences … and University Athletic Offices. I understand college players and NFL hopefuls are being bullied as well.
7:01 am on July 17th, 2011
Leach is the one who “abused” players and violated the terms of his contract. Now he blames everyone else.
12:07 pm on July 17th, 2011
If ESPN had reported the facts about the situation truthfully from the beginning, like we all expect any professional news organization to do, Adam James’ lies would’ve been exposed quickly, Leach would’ve moved on to a new coaching job to escape the Texas Tech den of snakes administration, and all the paid Spaeth hacks would be working on some other unscrupulous account somewhere out there.
12:50 pm on July 17th, 2011
fire Forde
9:42 am on July 18th, 2011
ESPN
You guys missed the boat. Remember your article on the
60 program. Craig James was right in the middle of the cheating schedule at SMU. What is wrong with you guys. You allowed Craig James to take you to the wood shed. Shame on you your bridges must be getting hot. That God for Chris Berman he is your main stay. By the way while I am at it, it is time for Keyshaun Johnson to go away.
8:39 pm on July 20th, 2011
I am buying ten copies of the new book. freebruce…
10:55 pm on December 2nd, 2011
Craig James should not be allowed to comment on any issue that pertains to any college sports program
and ESPN you guy’s are responsible for spreading his malignant bias.