Head coach Mike Rice of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights shouts instructions to his team against Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the second round of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 13, 2013 in New York City. / PHOTO BY AL BELLO/GETTY IMAGES
Alan: It is Heartening when Jerks Get Their Comeuppance
April 3, 2013
PISCATAWAY, N.J.Rutgers fired basketball coach Mike Rice on Wednesday after a videotape aired showing him shoving, grabbing and throwing balls at players in practice and using gay slurs during practice.
The videotape, broadcast Tuesday on ESPN, prompted scores of outraged social media comments as well as sharp criticism from Gov. Chris Christie. The head of the New Jersey Assembly called for Rice to be fired.
With mounting criticism on a state and national level, the school decided to take action, relieving Rice of his duties after three largely unsuccessful seasons at the Big East school. There will be a national search to replace him.
Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti was given a copy of the video in late November by a former employee. After hiring independent investigators to analyze the tape, he suspended Rice for three games, fined him $50,000 and ordered him to attend anger management classes. University president Robert Barchi saw the tape and signed off on the initial punishment.
But in a Wednesday email, Rutgers referred to new information and "a review of previously discovered issues" as the reasons for Rice's termination.
"I am responsible for the decision to attempt a rehabilitation of Coach Rice," Pernetti said. "Dismissal and corrective action were debated in December and I thought it was in the best interest of everyone to rehabilitate, but I was wrong. Moving forward, I will work to regain the trust of the Rutgers community."
The video shows Rice manhandling members of the Rutgers basketball team, throwing balls at players, and shouting gay slurs. Andy Staples, senior writer of Sports Illustrated, said of that kind of conduct, "You don't do that. You cannot do that. That may have been OK in 1950. It is not OK in 2013."
In December, Rice was suspended for three games and fined $50,000. Pernetti said in a radio interview, "All that behavior was unacceptable and whether you do it once or a hundred times, one time is too many. He knew exactly what he screwed up and what he did wrong."
After ESPN aired the video on Tuesday, criticism followed quickly. Gov. Christie said he was "deeply disturbed by the conduct displayed."
And Lebron James tweeted: "If my son played for Rutgers or a coach like that he would have some real explaining to do and I'm still gone whoop on him afterwards! C'mon"
Rice, who helped Robert Morris to two NCAA tournament appearances, was one of the hot coaching candidates in the spring of 2010. He interviewed with Fordham, where he played as a guard, only to not get the chance to return to his alma mater. Eventually, there was a difference in opinion in the school's search committee, and Rice's fiery, in-game behavior was a sticking point.
But Rutgers, and Pernetti, took a chance on him not long after that. The Scarlet Knights had an opening because of the unexpected dismissal of Fred Hill, and Rice, who has strong New Jersey recruiting roots, seemed like a fit.
But he wasn't able to push Rutgers into the upper echelon of the conference, and went just 44-51 at Rutgers. Rice posted just a 16-38 mark in the Big East, after going 73-31 in three seasons at Robert Morris. The Scarlet Knights went 15-16 this season and 5-13 in the league.
But his success — or lack thereof — on the court is all secondary now. The school is no longer dealing with an issue of wins and losses, but of right and wrong.