Before ESPN's "Outside The Lines" ran on Tuesday, not many people outside the coaching
circles knew of Mike Rice. They will now. The Rutgers basketball is under fire for his behavior
during practices with his team. Rice has done the impossible. He's made Bobby Knight look
like Pope Francis. The tantrums and tactics exhibited by Rice in video obtained by ESPN not
only crossed the line, but went deeper and were far more extreme than anything Knight was
ever accused of.
In the video shot between 2010-2012, Rice is seen hurling basketballs and insults at his players.
He's also shown pushing, showing them, and all but putting Ultimate Fighting Championship
moves on them. It's outrageous. In addition, Rice was heard yelling homophobic slurs at his
players, who were all between the ages of 18-22. A great example for the people he is supposed
to be teaching, guiding, and turning into better men.
I'm asking the same question you are. Why the heck has Rice not been fired? Well, he was
suspended for three games and fined $50,000 by Rutgers athletic director, Tim Pernetti, back
in December. Pernetti is responsible for hiring Rice.
Pernetti said on Tuesday, the hours of video is not "indicative of what really goes on at the
practices." Really? What is the rest of it like? Do they play duck, duck, goose or charades?
The behavior exhibited by Rice makes Bo Pellini, the head football coach at Nebraska,
who has also been reprimanded for his tirades, seem like a pussycat.
According to ESPN, as many as three players transferred because of Rice's volatile behavior.
It's safe to say that after seeing this video, any potential recruits who were even thinking about
going to Rutgers, aren't coming now. Rice is more combustible than Tony Stewart after the
NASCAR driver gets spun out on the final lap of a 500-mile ride with a full bladder.
I'm sure there were legal land mine's Pernetti and the Rutgers administration had to think about
before firing Rice on the spot, and they have another one now. Eric Murdock, a former assistant
to Rice, did not have his contract renewed last summer and plans to file a wrongful termination suit.
He stated that it was because he reported Rice and his behavior to the administration and was fired. We'll see how that plays out. But what is indisputable is what's on tape. With Knight, the video of him grabbing one of his players at Indiana by the throat, was grainy and somewhat out of focus. These images are crystal clear and there are a lot of them.A lot.
Rice is cooked. He cannot survive this unless he has Roy Black, Barry Scheck, and Gloria
Allred as his defense team. Rutgers may give him the chance to resign, which should come
sometime Wednesday, with all the i's are dotted and the t's crossed on his separation and
financial agreement.
Pernetti is sure to be in the cross-hairs after slapping Rice on the wrist with a suspension
and fine in December. He hired Rice, so I'm sure he didn't want to have a blemish on his
sterling resume. But now, Pernetti has egg on his face. Perhaps, he was hoping the video wasn't
going to surface. But it has and it is damning. Real damning.
This is looks bad on Pernetti, Rutgers, and the entire administration. Other coaches will
use this to recruit against Rice and the university and this video will be played over and over
until something is done.
Rice has no chance to survive this. He is done. It will be interesting to see if Pernetti follows
him out the door because there was clearly a cover-up. He had seen the video and knew it
wasn't pretty. Perhaps, he tried to somehow make it disappear.
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