Rutgers Fires Mike Rice
ESPN – Rutgers has fired coach Mike Rice after a review by the school’s athletic director that was prompoted by video showing Rice shoving, grabbing and throwing balls at players in practice and using gay slurs. The videotape, broadcast Tuesday on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines,” prompted scores of outraged social media comments, as well as widespread criticism among the state’s government officials, including the governor.”I am responsible for the decision to attempt a rehabilitation of Coach Rice,” Rutgers athletics director Tim Pernetti said in statement. “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 only guy who looks worse in this whole ordeal than Mike Rice is the Rutgers AD Tim Pernetti. I mean the only thing that has changed here is public opinion. He saw the tape in December. He suspended him for 3 games and that was that. Now the video goes public and he fires him. Kind of spineless. I mean if Mike Rice deserved to be fired now then you should probably be fired too right?
Anyway that’s not even the point of this blog. Maybe I’m in the minority here,but I 100% think the original punishment was fair. Nothing Mike Rice did in this video surprised me. Grabbing players and throwing balls at their feet and shit. Calling them pussies or fags or whatever he supposedly did. That’s what coaches do. Coaches are fucking nuts. That’s part of the deal. Almost all of his players stood by him saying they didn’t think it was a big deal. They didn’t take it personal. The only guy who complained was Eric Murdoch who clearly had a personal grudge with the coach. But the players didn’t care. They knew he was just trying to win. Maybe I come from a different era but this is what coaches did when I was growing up. Tough love. It teaches you to be a man. It teaches you to deal with criticism. It teaches you to be better. I have no problem with it. And anybody who pretends this doesn’t happen at 50% of college programs in the country is living is fantasy land. The only guys who get in trouble are the ones who have pansy people who tattle on them. But again 99% of college athletes know this comes with the territory. If you want to fire the guy fire him for not winning, but not for being a typical college basketball coach.