Who is Mark Adams, and why has Texas Tech suspended him? Taking a closer look at the controversy involving the NCAA team

Mark Adams is in his second season at the helm coaching Texas Tech and is in the news for all the wrong reasons. The 66-year-old has been suspended by the school due to “an inappropriate, unacceptable and racially insensitive comment” that Adams made to one of his players.

The full details of the situation have not been made public just yet and are being kept purposely vague. Texas Tech issued a statement that said:

“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,” the statement said. “Adams immediately addressed this with the team and apologized.”

The suspension will take place immediately and rules Adams out of coaching in the Big 12 Tournament. Texas Tech (16-15, 5-13 Big 12) enters as the ninth seed and is set to match up with West Virginia (18-13, 7-11) on Wednesday.

The program impressed last season in Adams' first year, with the Red Raiders making it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. This season did not go as well. An 0-8 start has made their chances of getting into March Madness slim. This makes the Big 12 Tournament especially important for the program.

It should also be noted that Texas Tech is investigating a separate incident in which the coach allegedly spat on a player. Adams said that he had a cough and accidentally got saliva on a player, but another source has said the coach said, "I can spit on you whenever I want to." Adams denied the accusation.

Combining a poor season with these character concerns is not a great recipe for Adams' future. There likely will not be a full decision made until the season's conclusion, but this is a storyline to continue monitoring.

Mark Adams next up in a pattern of poor character coaches?

Adams took over for Chris Beard as Texas Tech's coach after Beard was hird by Texas, his alma mater, after five seasons with the Red Raiders. Halfway through his second season at Texas, Beard was fired after being arrested with a third-degree felony for domestic violence. All charges have now been dropped in that case after going through the legal process.

There have been other unfortunate issues similar to Adams across college basketball as well.

In 2020, Penn State coach Pat Chambers resigned after saying he wanted players to “loosen the noose that’s around your neck” when referring to player stress. He is now the coach at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Just two seasons ago, Creighton's coach, Greg McDermott, came under scrutiny for using the phrase “stay on the plantation” as a way of telling the team to stick together. McDermott immediately apologized to the team as well as posted an apology on Twitter and did not receive any punishment from the school for the comment.

It will be seen if there are more details on the exact comment that was made by Adams or if Texas Tech will keep it internal.