First Dismissal of Leach Era
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DT T.J Poloai dismissed for violation of team rules.
4 months ago
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It was for marijuana.
He was on my floor and I heard it from him. Also talked to another player about it who said Leach has a one strike and you’re done rule.
Do you have a source for all of this? Or is it just something you heard
by Kyle Rancourt on Jan 15, 2012 1:42 PM PST up reply actions
In his book he talks about his no-tolerance policy.
CougCenter In Reid We Trust, Twitter!
by Craig Powers on Jan 15, 2012 9:49 AM PST up reply actions
That's too bad. D Line isn't really a place we can be losing guys.
"If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep in."
Thanks Primm Time 11 ...
That’s too bad. Will he be able to stay at school tho? Now, if he’s messed that up, that will really be sad.
I'm sure he can stay in school.
But he’ll have to pay for it himself.
CougCenter In Reid We Trust, Twitter!
by Craig Powers on Jan 15, 2012 9:50 AM PST up reply actions
If he leaves because his scholarship is revoked for breaking team rules, can he get picked up by another team somewhere?
Not sure how heavily he was recruited in the first place, just more curious about the rules.
Yeah.
See Massoli, Jeremiah. As far as Poloai goes, we were his only offer out of HS (surprise!). I could see him latching on at an FCS school, though.
by Kyle Rancourt on Jan 15, 2012 2:47 PM PST up reply actions
Masoli used the grad school loophole to be eligible immediately.
by Brian Floyd on Jan 15, 2012 11:55 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah but I think she was asking if he could go to another team period.
If he does transfer to a BCS school, he needs to sit out a year. If he goes FCS, which is more likely, he can play right away. The dismissal doesn’t do bar him from playing again at another school.
by Kyle Rancourt on Jan 16, 2012 11:02 AM PST up reply actions
Too bad for him...
I really feel for the kid. Losing an opportunity to compete and the substantial financial assistance that comes with it must be a blow. On the other side of the coin, I love the “one strike and you’re out” approach. For any shortcomings CPW may have had, he did clean up this program substantially. I am extremely happy to see that CML is not only continuing this, but raising the bar on it.
Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.
Thomas Jefferson
I don't feel for the kid.
No one forced him to smoke weed.
by Kyle Rancourt on Jan 15, 2012 12:26 PM PST up reply actions
Genuine Q
Is it realistic to expect all of these guys to never touch weed? Honest question — I don’t know. I’m not sure, just based on my understanding of cultural norms, how that will work with guys mainly from the islands and California as compared to primarily being from Texas. Different cultures.
Yes, you should follow another Coug-related account on Twitter: @425CougFan
yes. if the rules are clear, yes.
Next question.
by Blackie1829 on Jan 15, 2012 12:32 PM PST via mobile up reply actions 1 recs
Well you need to look at Student-Athletes in a different light than normal students
Is it realistic to expect an 18 or 19 year old, away from home for a prolonged period for pretty much the first time in their lives to stay away from drugs and alcohol? Probably not, no.
When you’re going to school for free to play a sport, though? Yeah, I would say it’s realistic to expect them to follow the rules.
by Kyle Rancourt on Jan 15, 2012 12:38 PM PST up reply actions
If your smart you usually
associate yourself with the players on the team that stay away from trouble. It makes it a lot easier to not get in trouble and you don’t have to risk being part of the guilty of association crowd. A lot of players usually realize what they have to lose by making certain choices. You make the bed you sleep in.
CougCenter OG since 9/2/2008 | @TheSoCalCoug
I don't like this
maybe in part because of my own political views about the infraction., but this is a 19 year old kid his is being way overpunished for what he did. Maybe he should have to do a Klay Thompson and get a standing ovation for apologizing in public. I know I’ll catch hell because Mike Leach walks on water, but supposedly the last guy who walked on water was somewhat forgiving.
Around these parts, a man could get hurt for wearing purple.
This has nothing to do with whether or not marijuana should be legal or not.
There is a rule in place that says no drugs. Marijuana is a drug. I don’t really get what the problem is.
by Kyle Rancourt on Jan 15, 2012 12:40 PM PST up reply actions
I am not making it a question about legalization
I think smoking pot is stupid and it is especailly for someone training to compete at this high of a level. I just think that a suspension and second chance are in order.
Around these parts, a man could get hurt for wearing purple.
We have no idea if he was given a second chance or not.
CougCenter In Reid We Trust, Twitter!
by Craig Powers on Jan 15, 2012 12:56 PM PST up reply actions
Could be
but not likely. We (including myself) understand what the policy is. But I don’t think Leach has been here long enough for another issue to have arisen.
Around these parts, a man could get hurt for wearing purple.
Leach tells a story of a group of players in his book that he had when he first started at Tech.
They had all been in trouble for drugs at some point or another with the previous coaching staff. He talked to them and informed them of his policy and said they would be kicked off if it continued.
Maybe he had failed tests before and wasn’t publicly reprimanded because he was a redshirt.
CougCenter In Reid We Trust, Twitter!
by Craig Powers on Jan 15, 2012 1:24 PM PST up reply actions
Ok then.
That’s fair. But as Craig mentions below, we don’t have enough information right now.
by Kyle Rancourt on Jan 15, 2012 12:58 PM PST up reply actions
Kyle, I honestly don't think much more will come out of it
they’ll probably just be a couple press blurbs and that’s it. He’s gone. He wasn’t high profile enough to draw a presser or anything. I guess this has just beccome the normative duty of coaches and nobody makes any big deal about it.
Around these parts, a man could get hurt for wearing purple.
I'm aware of that
I’m just not in total agreement with his policy, which is my point. I am sympathetic to the youth of the players.
Around these parts, a man could get hurt for wearing purple.
Great article and I like almost all of what he says, but
after asked…….
It’s one and done for you? As soon as you put on the practice jersey for a team coached by Mike Leach, if you fail a drug test, you’re gone?
Leach responds…..
No, my policy was that if you are a freshman, hadn’t been around to hear my lectures for a year, and you tested positive then you had to go to mandatory counseling and we would test you frequently after your system cleared. If you came up dirty again, then we’d cut you. Here’s the thing – I just think it’s divisive to football. I don’t see anything good about drug use. It’s selfish. If your partying is more important than the welfare of the team, you probably belong somewhere else.
That may mean that something else is at play here as others have suggested or maybe that Poloai was just made an example out of, which I see as another possibility.
Around these parts, a man could get hurt for wearing purple.
As long as Leach's policy is clear and universal I don't have an issue with discipline.
If Leach says you’ll be cut if he catches you eating McDonald’s then I’m not going to feel bad for a player to gets cut for eating a Big Mac.
Now if Poloai gets cut and later a player who committed the same offense is suspended, then I think it’s fair to question it.
by Mark Sandritter on Jan 15, 2012 2:23 PM PST up reply actions
To bad for T.J.
but I think this makes it clear to the rest of the team that Leach isn’t messing around. I bet after this a lot of guys will get their act together. This will probably sent a stronger presidence for the rest of Cougar Athletics. Something everyone in the department will probably like.
CougCenter OG since 9/2/2008 | @TheSoCalCoug
Could it be possible
He cut Poloai to create room for his guys? Maybe if it was one of his guys it would have been a suspension?
No, I don't think so. It's about the team, and as he said, selfish.
Plus, obviously he sees no up-sides to it either.
Re: Genuine Q
Was weed discovered in the last five – ten years? Cultural norms to smoke it? Who exactly decided to “make” anyone do it?
The norms you choose to follow are your norms. Weed consumption was insane in the late 60’s on and there are lots and lots of people who just said “not me” and decided to do something else.
I don’t know if this was the infraction that got him booted, but I know from students currently in dorms with players that claim it isn’t just one guy in football. I’ve always wondered if they test for it.
by TheOriginalCougMan on Jan 15, 2012 9:00 PM PST reply actions
Instead of writing "Re:" in the subject line
you can use the reply button, and they’ll know you’re replying to them!
by Kyle Rancourt on Jan 15, 2012 11:19 PM PST up reply actions
I think this is a great move by Leach. You send a loud and clear
message right away about his view on things. I hate to see a kid get booted, but this had to be done. Look at the way CKB handled the Moore infraction and then what later ensued with KT and DC.
You have to send a message to these kids. They are kids, despite man size bodies. Their frontal lobes are developed enough to make reasoned choices! I know, I was one of them once.
The brain or the person?
If My Life Is Great, Why Am I Not Happy?
by well you win some and lose others on Jan 16, 2012 2:54 PM PST up reply actions
To be fair,
there’s a big spectrum of ways to handle that type of infraction between your two examples.
That said, one of the players was quoted (IIRC) after their first meeting that two things would get you booted from the team immediately. That’s a pretty short list of things to avoid in order to stay on the team.
#CougHarmonyOnTwitter #teamnopants
by TiltingRight on Jan 16, 2012 9:32 PM PST up reply actions
My only concern
Is half-live. How long does a lipid-binding drug stay in your system? Was he booted because he smoked it, or because he smoked it before Leach was hired?
by Aaron Whiteman on Jan 17, 2012 10:31 AM PST up reply actions
I've heard around 30 days for ave. people, less time for people with lean body types.
Some tests, like the ones they give people in abstemious classes can give a good idea of how much/how recently the person smoked.
Upto 30 days
Usually less, especially for those that don’t do it often.
Leach was hired a month and a half ago.
If weed he smoked before that is still in his system, holy cow. That’s some good weed.
by Kyle Rancourt on Jan 17, 2012 11:48 PM PST up reply actions
The "he" I was referring to was not Leach. It was Poloai.
by Kyle Rancourt on Jan 18, 2012 1:21 PM PST up reply actions
You gotta watch blackbeard ...
he will zing you when you least expect it.
by Arizona Raider on Jan 18, 2012 3:41 PM PST up reply actions
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