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Texas Tech basketball coach Mark Adams has been suspended by the university as the Red Raiders prepare to face West Virginia in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday, March 8.
Adams was suspended due to comments that were deemed “inappropriate, unacceptable, and racially insensitive comment.”
According to a report from ESPN.com, Adams cited a Bible verse about slaves serving their masters while trying to encourage his players to be more open to coaching. He reportedly “referenced Bible verses about workers, teachers, parents, and slaves serving their masters.” Adams later apologized for the comment after discovering a player was upset with the comment.
The Red Raiders finished their regular season campaign on Saturday with the team’s third straight loss to fall to 16-15 on the season.
“Texas Tech University has suspended men’s basketball head coach Mark Adams in relation to the use of an inappropriate, unacceptable, and racially insensitive comment last week,” the university’s statement read. “On Friday, Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt was made aware of an incident regarding a coaching session between Adams and a member of the men’s basketball team. Adams was encouraging the student-athlete to be more receptive to coaching and referenced Bible verses about workers, teachers, parents, and slaves serving their masters. Adams immediately addressed this with the team and apologized.
“Upon learning of the incident, Hocutt addressed this matter with Adams and issued him a written reprimand. Hocutt subsequently made the decision to suspend Adams effective immediately in order to conduct a more thorough inquiry of Adams’ interactions with his players and staff.”
The 66-year-old Adams is currently under a contract that runs through the 2026-27 season and would pay him $15.5 million over five years. If he is fired without cause, Adams would be owed more than $7 million of the remaining money on his contract.
