Jim Mora‘s paranoia seemed to reach a new level earlier this week when the UCLA head coach cancelled Wednesday’s practice early and promptly sent the media home without speaking to them.
While cancelling a practice late in fall camp is something head coaches routinely do this time of year, it seems the Bruins’ reasoning was a bit different from most. According to a report from the Los Angeles Times, a source described the cancellation as a result of ‘concerns about privacy’ over a building that overlooks the team’s practice fields.
“An issue came up,” Mora said Thursday after a full practice in Westwood, “but I’m just pleased with the way everyone at UCLA has responded and trying to do the best that they can to make this a secure practice environment for us.”
At the heart of the matter, according to the Times, is the year-old Luskin Center next door has both a patio and hotel rooms facing the UCLA practice fields. It’s unclear as to what specifically made the school aware of something that resulted in practice being cancelled but maybe somebody in Texas A&M (the team’s opponent in the season opener) apparel was walking around with some binoculars or something.
We’ll see if any more information about the incident surfaces but if nothing else, the odd move will add a little bit of intrigue when the Aggies visit the Rose Bowl next Sunday.