Washington State Football: Leach Cleared and Wilson Vindicated, a Little

Nov. 10, 2012; Pullman, WA, USA; Washington State Cougars head coach Mike Leach walks off the field after a game against the UCLA Bruins at Martin Stadium. UCLA won 44-36. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Bill Moos ran a full scale investigation into the allegations of abuse and mistreatment, covering twelve in depth player interviews and questioning several staff members close to the Washington State program. Mike Leach and his staff came up aces, and then some. In fact the players (who were cross sectioned for complete fairness) had nothing but great things to say about the new coaching staff and where they think they are headed in the very near future.

"The players stated that they have been challenged as students and athletes, and believe they have grown as a result. They said that they welcome the challenge in order to be more mentally and physically prepared to compete at the Pac-12 level…The players said that they believe in the coaches and that they will take the program to a higher level. They said that the coaches are tough, but fair and that they care about them as human beings. They went on to say the coaching staff has boosted the confidence of the team and that all players are treated equally regardless of role."

According to Moos, the Marquess Wilson situation is different than what it originally appeared to be:

"What is not widely known but is of great importance is I received a text message from the departing player following the UCLA game where he recanted the allegations of abuse made in a letter written by he and a relative and sent to the media earlier that evening."

I will say this, everyone is going to have their opinion. I still believe Wilson needs help in the work ethic arena, but I am confident that he immediately realized the mistake of sending the letter to the media and based on this new information, that he is still a good kid. It may or may not have been his original intention to take a shot at the coaching staff, but regardless, he was venting his frustrations and we’ve all been there. It is more clear now that the matter got out of hand only because Marquess put it into the media’s hands and our initial reaction generally doesn’t include reading between the lines.

I hope the best for Marquess, we all do here at ACU, that’s always been the case. He’s an NFL talent and with some more work could be very good in the League. I am happy that nothing was found to be wrong with the coaching staff or in particular, Leach (we’ve had enough problems in the past decade already). I am also overjoyed that we can now move on from this fiasco and forward into the future. Recruits and parents alike will enjoy this news and it can only cement the ideals that the staff are selling.

Here are the full findings of Bill Moos in his investigation.

Go Cougs!