Former Washington State cornerback Zaire Webb is suing Washington State and Cougars head coach Mike Leach after not being allowed to be reinstated to the football program. Webb was dismissed by Leach from the program following an arrest last October but says he should have been allowed to return to the team after the charges were dropped. The report of the lawsuit was originally shared by Deadspin, along with the documents for the lawsuit.
At the time of Webb’s dismissal (wide receiver Anthony White Jr. was also given the boot for the same reason), Leach explained any violation of three simple rules in his program would result in an automatic removal from the program. Any player found guilty of violence against a woman, being connected to illegal drugs, or stealing gets removed from the program, according to Leach’s policy. But Webb feels he should have been welcomed back to the program after the charges against him were dropped. After he was removed from the football program, the university pulled Webb’s scholarship.
Webb is building his case on the accusation that Leach has been known to bend his own rules with regard to those three previously mentioned causes for automatic dismissal. Not every example outlined by Webb’s lawsuit ties directly to the three red lines Leach supposedly has drawn, but there is at least one example that supports Webb’s claim. The lawsuit claims wide receiver Grant Porter remained on the roster this spring despite a domestic-violence charge from last November, although Washington State has followed up to say Porter is indefinitely suspended.
Webb’s lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, in addition to reimbursement for legal fees and costs, and any other support the court deems warranted for Webb. There is no specific request to see Webb reinstated on scholarship at Washington State or within the football program.
Washington State and Leach have provided no comment on this lawsuit.
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