The mother of former West Virginia University head football coach Rich Rodriguez wrote a letter to the editor at the Fairmont Times-West Virginian Thursday.

Arleen Rodriguez said the reasons for her son's departure (to Michigan) are known only to him. She says the threats to her family and the damaged property in the wake of Rich's move are deplorable.

Arleen asked folks to donate money to charity in West Virginia instead of buying anti-Rich t-shirts.

Below is the entire letter to the editor:

"I am writing this to thank our family and many, many friends who have contacted us to congratulate us and wish us well on our son's (Coach Rod's) move to Michigan.

We as a family will especially miss the fun times of all being together every football game Saturday.

Although we are sad to see Rich, Rita and our grandchildren move, it
was their chance to do what he felt necessary for his career.

The circumstances surrounding his move have been very disturbing to our family.

We all love our state, including Rich. However, his reasons to move on are known only to him, and if he chooses not to go into details as to what made him move, we can only respect his decision.

We have found it especially difficult to understand or explain the actions of a few of our West Virginians.

It was deplorable that our family, especially the children, have been threatened and property damaged.

I hope those of you who feel the need to spend your hard-earned money on the anti-Rod T-shirts would take a suggestion and instead donate money to a West Virginia charity, since that would help the state.

When a door closes a window may open, and I hope that this ordeal will soon be settled.

We love you, dear friends and family, who stand by and support us.
May the new year bring peace and happiness along with a Mountaineer victory. We now have two teams to cheer for.

Arleen Rodriguez
Coach Rod's Mom"

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