Texas Tech’s men’s basketball program is looking for a new head coach.
Shortly after the Red Raiders season came to a likely end after a 78-62 loss to West Virginia in the first round of the Big 12 tournament, the news came that coach Mark Adams, who was suspended for the tournament, was stepping down.
The news was broken by Jeff Borzello of ESPN.
Mark Adams has stepped down as Texas Tech’s head coach, per the school.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) March 9, 2023
Adams was suspended for his use of racially insensitive language, which came when he was quoting scripture from the bible.
KCBD, Lubbock’s NBC affiliate, detailed that “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,”
Adams issued a statement after stepping down.
“My lifelong goal was to help and be a positive influence on my players, and to be a part of the Texas Tech men’s basketball team,” he said, per ESPN. “However, both the University and I believe this incident has become a distraction for the Texas Tech men’s basketball team and the University, which I care about so deeply.”
Adams’ stint as Texas Tech’s head coach lasted only two seasons but his time at the university was longer. From 2013-2015, he was the director of basketball operations. Then, after serving as an assistant for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock for the 2015-16 season, he returned to the Red Raiders as an assistant under Chris Beard. Adams assumed the head coaching role when Beard left for Texas following the 2020-21 season.
[Jeff Borzello, KCBD, ESPN]
