Getty ImagesIt’s one thing to lay your hands on another man in full view of television cameras.
It’s another matter entirely to offer an explanation that flies in the face of all available video evidence.
Yet for some reason, that’s the tack Tommy Tuberville has decided to take. Following No. 25 Texas Tech’s 41-34 double overtime win over Kansas on Saturday, the head coach was asked about a sideline incident in which it walks, talks and smacks like he took a slap at one of his assistant coaches, grad or otherwise.
Tuberville’s explanation?
He was on the field, and I reached to grab him and pull him off. When I pulled, I missed his shirt and I grabbed his (headset) and his microphone ripped off his head. I was trying to get him off the field. “He’s out on the field, and we’re trying to get him off. I missed his shoulder, and grabbed his … . It wasn’t anything to it.”
Talk about making a bad situation worse. In no way, shape or form was Tuberville going to pull anything. In a fit of anger and/or rage over a 12-men-on-the-field penalty, Tuberville lashed out with a slap and knocked the special teams assistant’s headphones and ball cap to the ground.
His motion suggested anything other than a pull. The only pulling the coach is doing now is our collective legs. Or the wool over the eyes of the visually impaired.
UPDATED 6:09 p.m. ET: Here’s an expanded version of Tuberville’s postgame comments, courtesy of quotes distributed the Texas Tech.
Q. Early second half the situation where you had 4th and 2 at your midfield, what happened between you and your GA there?
COACH TUBERVILLE: Oh, I reached and grabbed him. He was on the field, and I reached to grab him and pull him off. When I pulled, I missed his shirt and I grabbed his face mask and his microphone ripped off his head. I was trying to get him off the field.
Q. Was there no heatedness on your part?
COACH TUBERVILLE: What?
Q. It looked like a lot of confusion there. They were throwing personnel on the field.
COACH TUBERVILLE: Yeah, he was trying to help me get him off. But he’s standing out on the field and we’re trying to get him off, and the referee’s standing there. I just pulled him off and missed his shoulder and grabbed his I mean, it wasn’t anything to it. It was just one of those deals where I missed his shoulder and ended up grabbing the microphone on his head set and pulled it off.
Q. You weren’t heated (Indiscernible)?
COACH TUBERVILLE: Well, not at him. We couldn’t get the right personnel. We got two back to back penalties. That’s what I was hot about.
Classless Tommy Boy!
Tuberville also said that the attack on the embassy in Benghazi was caused by a video on youtube.
And that’s the last game he’ll be coaching this year
Quit being a moron Tommy. Admit you messed up and this will go away a lot faster.
Is the assistant named Adam James?
Honesty was the only option in this situation. Tuberville chose to flat out lie. Disappointing to constantly see D1 HC’s lie to get themselves out of obvious wrong doing.
Craig James wants him assassinated.
How about the CFT moderator just entershisnown comment at the beginning of each story saying “Obama Benghazi Fast & Furious Kenya” and then block any further idiotic political comments from here.
I agree with the other commenters that Tuberville should not have lied. He shouldn’t have slapped an assistant in the first place. He loses a lot of credibility for that alone. He can’t reasonably preach to his players about discipline after slapping an assistant. Beyond that, its especially heinous to slap a GA, who is in a situation in which he has very little power. But the worst part of this isn’t the slap. It’s the lie. By lying, Tuberville loses all credibility. It reeks of desperation and of passing the buck. It is the antithesis of leadership and shows some level of cowardice.
FIRE HIM!!!
Tuberville is full of BS,you could see him attacking with words then pulling down on the headphones.To bad the asst. didnt just reach out and slap the shit out of him.JMO
Fire Tommy..
If Mike Leach was fired for supposedly putting an insubordinate asshole in a shed, Tommy Tuberville should be fired immediately for slapping his assistant coach on live TV. There’s nothing more to discuss.
I’ve watched the video a bunch of times, and I agree with Tubberville. Looks like he is angry, but he’s clearly telling the coach to get the hell off the field and behind the sidelines. Then he immediately orders a player off the field also.
Looks like he was just trying to get control of the sideline. I don’t think he was “pulling” at the coach, but it looked more like a tap than a slap.
Sorry – just doesn’t look like anything to me. And I don’t even like the Raiders or Tubberville.
Tommy was just trying to show that his pimp hand was strong…
Lmao
My son and I happened to be watching when this occured. I looked at my son and said, “just one time I’d like to see the assistant coach tag Tuberville on the end of the nose and then dare him to fire him.”
As a Texas Tech Alumni and fan of the program it was sad for to see Coach Tubberville lie about what happened . I think everyone would have accepted the fact that you lost your temper in the heat of the moment. However what message does that send your players that it is ok to lie about mistakes you made? Is winning at all costs the only think that matters.
It’s not too late to admit you we’re wrong. Show you have integrity and own up to what happened. People will forgive you but not if you continue to lie.
I really hope UK takes him off the list as a new head coach for UK
This would be such a better story if the assistant hit TT back for slapping him. He had no intention of trying to grab his shirt unless he thought the coach was 7ft tall.
When are these old coaches going to understand that there are cameras everywhere, anything you do can be instant news. Tubberville should lose his job, hate for anyone to lose their job, but you can’t hit your employees. That coach couldn’t do anything and now he is a joke to the players he is coaching because of the way he was treated and didn’t do anything.
Here n da Hub, the news media is simply calling this very unprofessional action as “The Incident”. WTF… Really.. Ok typical Lbk “GOOD OL BOY” spin on very blatant malicious actions. Lbk of course seems to be sugar-coating the SLAP or as Tubberville would explains it as pulling the coach off the field. I have to applaud the restraint by Grad Asst. (not really) However, if I’m gettn slapped by a male adult other than my Father I’m responding with a Right Cross to the eye socket or jaw. Of course this is just mere personal opinion. Funny though, I wonder if Tubbyville wld have “pulled off”one of his O or D lineman in the same fashion.