Tommy Tuberville is not welcome in the ESPN broadcast booth for Texas Tech's Week 4 game, according to nearly 5,000 fans.
Tuberville went 20-17 in three seasons as head coach of the Red Raiders (2010-12) before abruptly leaving for Cincinnati in December 2012, where 29 wins over four seasons led to his dismissal. Then the gloves came off.
In May, he talked about his firing at Auburn in 2008 and arrival at Texas Tech the following year, comparing Lubbock to Siberia and Iraq.
"You run me off at Auburn and you ship me to Lubbock, Texas,” he said. “I’m going to tell you what, that’s like going to Siberia. Somebody asked me, ‘What’s Lubbock look like?’ It looked like Iraq.”
It took him two weeks to apologize, saying, "I was an idiot."
That's not enough for Texas Tech fans to get over his arrogance and rocky tenure in Lubbock. And they don't want him anywhere near the football program, including in the booth, where he's scheduled to broadcast the Red Raiders' game at Houston this weekend.
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A Change.org petition harshly criticizes Tuberville and his family, saying they "have scarred and traumatized the citizens of Lubbock and the fans of Texas Tech University."
"We, the signers of this petition do not intend to watch the game (TTU vs UH) being aired on ESPN unless Tommy Tuberville is removed from the lineup."
As of Thursday morning, it had 4,343 supporters, 657 short of its goal of 5,000.
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