The time as the writing here begins is 6:22 PM Eastern time. This isn’t something that is said at the beginning of the articles on this blog, so it must be important to this topic. The situation at Rutgers is a fluid one.
Before we go on this journey, know that I am a fan of Rutgers athletics. Growing up, they were the closest Division I school to where I lived, and became my access to college sports. I don’t really watch any games; just check their major sports scores for their big sports. I’ll stay objective in this story, and as on-task as possible.
On Wednesday, April 3, Mike Rice was fired from his position as head basketball coach of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights’ men’s basketball team. He probably deserved to be fired for being a mediocre coach at best. After having success at Robert Morris University, Rutgers hired Rice three years ago. He had yet to have a winning season, racking up a 44-51 record as the coach of the Scarlet Knights. The 15-16 record this past season included a three-game suspension from the university.
This suspension came on December 13, 2012. He was also fined $50,000 when athletic director Tim Pernetti saw a video from a team practice showing Rice making excessive physical contact with his players and yelling intensely at them. The suspension was a complete sabbatical from the university, and not much was made of it in the mainstream media.
Now, fast-forward to two days ago, Tuesday. Outside the Lines, an ESPN show known for its gritty investigative reporting, aired video showing Rice pushing around players, throwing basketballs at their heads and legs, and calling players gay slurs. This two and a half minute video is a snippet of hours upon hours of filming. Look up the video for yourself; it’s abhorrent.
It came about thanks to disgruntled ex-assistant Eric Murdock. He showed Pernetti a video of the abuse almost a year ago, with nothing being done about it. He was then fired, and believed he was wrongfully terminated. It’s always the disgruntled ex-employees, isn’t it?
So for starters, Pernetti learned about allegations against Mike Rice in about July 2012. He then saw a video of this in December 2012, and promptly suspended the coach. The coach was allegedly told to change his ways, or else he’d be a goner. Pernetti’s mistake was realized only because the video came to light. He should’ve fired the coach four months ago.
The reaction on social media after the video came to light would be Rice’s undoing. The opinions on Twitter and Facebook were practically unanimous; the guy had to go. When he was fired, people complained it was the media’s fault, but the only real media at fault is the one controlled by the people.
Heads will roll besides Mike Rice’s. Since the penning of this post began, Jimmy Martelli, an assistant under Rice, resigned. He was known to the team as “Baby Rice”. With a nickname like that, his dismissal was probably imminent anyways.
The next to go should be AD Pernetti. He sat on his hands for five months, even though his office sits right next to where the team practices, and where he should’ve witnessed these events taking place. Then, he blew another opportunity to do the right thing, hurting Rice financially but keeping his practices relatively intact. It doesn’t matter though, because he won’t go. (Editor’s note: As of Friday morning, Pernetti did in fact resign, so I was wrong on that one.)
You see, Pernetti was instrumental in securing Rutgers’ admission into the Big Ten conference. Without him, the Scarlet Knights could’ve lost out on the lucrative deal and gotten stuck in the now-defunct Big East conference. I don’t remember where I heard this, but I can’t take credit for it: turns out there is a price for self-respect and decency these days.
The next person to go will be the university president. Members of the faculty are calling for both the AD and the president’s heads. It almost sounds like Penn State all over again, except without state involvement. Or maybe not, but more on that in a second.
Why should the president go before the AD does? He shouldn’t, but it appears he may be just as culpable, if not more so. President Barchi signed off on the suspension of Rice in December. He also pressured Pernetti to fire Rice the other day, claiming Rice couldn’t remain a member of the university.
He claimed that he only saw the video footage on Tuesday, and that’s why the pressure was applied to get rid of Rice. So why didn’t the president see that video when he signed off on the initial suspension. Or did he just not care, and he’s trying to cover himself? A serious issue seems to exist in terms of the people at the helm of the university.
Rutgers University is the flagship state school of New Jersey. Therefore, they are directly connected with the state and the government. Chris Christie, governor of New Jersey, has already made a statement saying he was “deeply disturbed” by what has taken place. It’s unclear if there will be legal action, but that would certainly muddy the situation further.
Parents of high school basketball players must be frightened to allow their sons to go play at this school. There was a man there with spells of lunacy throwing basketballs at players and hurting their physical and emotional psyche. As a basketball program, Rutgers is about to hit a deep depression. Two players have already announced they will transfer; their motivations are unknown.
This is just a mess that can be waxed about forever. For now, you know the facts of a university in turmoil. The ultimate opinion lays within you to decide what role a coach has to a team, an administration to a group of students, and a university to its enrollees. This mess won’t clear anytime in the near future.
