Washington State football coach Mike Leach is always ready to give media members a soundbite, but his most recent comments may not be what you would expect. During his weekly press conference, the Washington State football coach was asked about California’s Fair Pay to Play Act which would allow student-athletes in the state the right to profit from their likeness.
Leach doesn’t appear to be more fond of the idea, so he gave the state of California some advice and ideas to focus on rather than college athletics.
He also thinks the bill would give an unfair recruiting advantage.
“I do think if everybody’s not given — in other words, if you’re creating a recruiting advantage beyond what already exists, I think it’s gonna be very difficult. I think there will be a huge imbalance and you’ll destroy college football,” Leach told the media.
“The state of California has trouble keeping their streets clean right now. So my thought is that they probably ought to focus on that. That’s just one man’s opinion. I’m sure I’m probably wrong. But at the rate that California’s handling their infrastructure and some of their other problems, I think we’ll see how they do with that before I really think it would be that beneficial for the legislature in California to enter into college football.”
Mike Leach has some THOUGHTS on the state of California trying to pass legislation to pay college athletes (Things get spicy after Leach, quite literally, sips his tea)
H/T @WSUCougarFB pic.twitter.com/Jtt4rIKV1C
— Brenna Greene (@BrennaGreene_) September 16, 2019
Mike Leach brought all of the spice with those comments.
To be fair to Leach, the Pac-12 and other schools in the conference have spoken out against the Fair Pay to Play Act saying the NCAA should be allowed to come forward with any proposals first. If the Fair Pay to Play Act is ultimately signed into law in California, it would not go into effect until 2021.
As for Washington State, the Cougars return to action on Saturday, September 21 against the UCLA Bruins. Kickoff between the No. 19 Cougars and Bruins at Martin Stadium in Pullman is set for 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
