YabbaDabbaBlue

April 2nd, 2013 at 5:00 PM ^

http://www.scarletknights.com/basketball-men/coaches/rice.asp

They got a few things right:

"The Rutgers Athletic Center has enjoyed a renaissance as one of the most difficult places to play in all of college basketball."

"Rice wasted little time making his mark during his initial campaign in 2010-11."

 

On a more serious note: using fear and abuse to motivate breeds resentment. The main flaw with this tactic is that the players will only do as much as he tells them; no player would ever go the extra mile for him, like they would for a Hoke or a Beilein.

These players are still kids, and Rice's actions suggest that it's more about him than about the players.

DonAZ

April 2nd, 2013 at 5:39 PM ^

 

no player would ever go the extra mile for him, like they would for a Hoke or a Beilein.

That's the key ... in addition to putting the university in jeopardy of embarrassment or worse, Rice's tactics are very short-sighted.

There's nothing wrong with pushing young men to face their limitations and break through them.  Hell, that's one of the key positives of sport like football or basketball.  Coaches that do that well -- and Hoke absolutely comes to mind -- earn not just the respect of the players, but the devotion of the players.  This Rice guy earns neither.

Hardware Sushi

April 2nd, 2013 at 4:57 PM ^

That guy is a first-class a-hole but I didn't see anything to get him fired. Maybe I'd fire him now that this video came out and it's going to be a real bitch to recruit, but not because some people deem he was overly physical.

It's division one basketball, not a youth league. Grow some thick skin or go play somewhere else.

Move along now...

SalvatoreQuattro

April 2nd, 2013 at 4:58 PM ^

to keep a proper stance.  I think UM fans have to honest with themselves and acknowledge that what we witnessed in this video happened to a lesser extent at Michigan practices under Bo. 

 

I love Bo and I understand that this "old school" type of teaching, but coming from a home where a spanking or any form of corporal punishment was meted out I cannot separate the two. 

Hardware Sushi

April 2nd, 2013 at 5:15 PM ^

They have a great AD. No way he's going anywhere. Pernetti has done some great things in his time at Rutgers. Their fanbase (rightfully so) believes he's the major, if not sole reason, for Rutgers getting the 14th team invite.

Yes, Delany wanted NJ/NYC badly, but Pernetti handled the situation perfectly. Plus he'll be great for future TV negotiations with his connections in the industry (former CBS sports VP or Prez...some big wig).

Hardware Sushi

April 2nd, 2013 at 5:32 PM ^

You act like the coach was cold cocking people and then robbing their wallets.

The Athletic Department suspended him...and I would be willing to bet loads of money the University Prez and Legal department were apprised of the situation before punishment handed down.

I just don't see them getting rid of the AD. We will see. Feel free to rub it in my face later. I did appreciate the Les Moonves reference.

JamieH

April 2nd, 2013 at 11:11 PM ^

Based on the interviews I saw today, Pernetti is an amoral asshole with exactly ZERO integrity.  If he is the face of Rutgers Athletics then their entire program is rotten to the core. 

From the interviews I saw today, people like Tim Pernetti are the problem with college ethletics.  Not interested at all in doing the right thing.  Always looking to cover bad stuff up and do whatever is necessary to bury things to protect their own reputation rather than protecting their students.

He deserves to be fired.

LSAClassOf2000

April 2nd, 2013 at 5:20 PM ^

"When he hired the coach, Pernetti said he knew Rice had a "fiery" personality. "I knew exactly what I was getting and I still know what I've got," Pernetti said."

It doesn't seem like this would be necessarily true, unless Tim Pernetti really does have his reputation and ego tied up in this hire and just doesn't even want to comprehend it, as Murdock theorizes. I have to believe there are very few schools - if any at all (hopefully, none at all) - that would keep Mike Rice having seen that tape. If Pernetti think that this is merely a "first offense" and that a fine and a suspension should cover it, then there isn't much of a reason to employ someone essentially acting as an enabler either. There's maximizing potential, and then there is treating people in such a way that you oblitterate potential - clearly, Rice is of the latter school, making him effectively useless as a coach and educator, I would think. 

detrocks

April 2nd, 2013 at 5:32 PM ^

What Rice did was terrible and inexcusable and he should be fired.    

For me, what's just as troubling is the fact that Pernetti was informed of this behavior over the summer, didn't take any action until December and only decided that it was worth a three game suspension.   He should have fired him then and there. Instead, he gives him a minor suspension, lets him go his way and fails to renew the contract of the guy that brought it to his attention. 

It's bad enough that we have to accept Rutgers and their mediocrity in football and basketball, but now we know their head coach is serial abuser of his players and their AD is an enabler of this behavior.

Looking forward to seeing our teams destroy them on the field.

Look Up_See Blue

April 2nd, 2013 at 5:32 PM ^

As a victim of abuse from a coach of mine that I had in college 11 years ago this makes me sick. It brings back old memories that will never be forgotten. To this day I have not forgiven the man that embarrassed me in front of my entire team , the opposing team, and all the fans. I'm just not sure how a coach can get away with this type of behavior.

XM - Mt 1822

April 2nd, 2013 at 5:37 PM ^

i get some language, an f-bomb here and there.  not my style but i'm not losing sleep over it.   i get grabbing a jersey and 'emphatically' leading a player to where they need to be, but this guy was way, way past that.     played lots, wrestled, hockey (even at mich) and football till i was an old man, and no coach i ever had or ever saw acted like that.  i coach now and it wouldn't even occur to me to drop an f-bomb, much less all of that other stuff.   fire him.  do it now. 

Butterfield

April 2nd, 2013 at 5:38 PM ^

This juvenile display should be enough to get a winning coach pushed out the door, but I'd fire this guy nased purely on record alone.  He's guided Rutgers for three terrible seasons.....he must have pictures. 

get-on-my-lawn

April 2nd, 2013 at 5:39 PM ^

How does this team have any players on it? For one, rutgers basketball is rutgers basketball, so you have that... But then this guy is the coach on top of that? Why would any basketball player worth anything want to choose this place to spend 4 years playing basketball under this guy when there are so many other options?

Humen

April 2nd, 2013 at 5:39 PM ^

The B1G has to know by now that when you receive a report from an inferior about some type of abuse, you better follow it up and do due diligence. Fire the coach and the AD.

Yeoman

April 2nd, 2013 at 6:03 PM ^

All the discussion lately, triggered in part by the O'Bannon case, about whether "student-athletes" are being abused by their schools, deprived of their rightful compensation for performing a very lucrative service for their universities. "Treated like slaves," is the hyperbole.

And here they are, being treated like slaves.

Can anyone imagine any of this going down in their own workplace? What would happen to you if you tried any of this once, never mind a continuing pattern of it for years--what would be the consequences of calling your subordinates "faggots", throwing objects at their heads from point-blank range, putting your hands on them in a way that could even conceivably be construed as violent?

But it happens on a practice court and we have at least a few people that think it's normal.

Athletics is the only place left in this society where we even have this conversation.

SalvatoreQuattro

April 2nd, 2013 at 6:29 PM ^

treated. I see no lashing, no collars, no branding, or castration. What I do see is physical abuse that, while upsetting, is nowhere near what a slave went through.

Nothing about this situation is indicative of slavery. A player can leave anytime. A slave cannot. A player can seek redress through courts of law. Slaves were not even considered fully human, much less able to use courts of law. 

It's time we develop a corollary to Godwin's Law for the use of slavery on the internet. I'm calling it Quattro's Law. This is the law that states that any argument that invokes a comparison of slavery to a situation of much less severity is automatically declared invalid.

Half Blood Dut…

April 2nd, 2013 at 6:18 PM ^

My dad told me that when he was in high school, coaches would call their players pussies.

He told me that when his football coach called him a pussie, he hit a guy so hard in the next drill that he injured him. haha

UMgradMSUdad

April 2nd, 2013 at 6:49 PM ^

Even after he was known to be a prick to his players and others, Bobby Knight was still able to recruit.  Having national championships will do that for you. Rice doesn't exactly have that kind of resume. He's a liability and should have been fired months ago.

cbs650

April 2nd, 2013 at 6:49 PM ^

If I was the father of one of the players, I would have instructed my son to handle his business. And I would tell anybody who has a problem with how my son acted to come deal with me.

rob f

April 2nd, 2013 at 7:00 PM ^

that this story has hit mainstream nightly network news, what choice doesthe  Rutgers AD have but to move quickly and fire Rice? 

While the report covered on NBC News by Brian Williams shouldn't be any kind of "tipping point",  a story progressing this quickly through the media from a Sports Media outlet thru the blogosphere and then on to TV sets across the country pretty much spells doom.

JamieH

April 2nd, 2013 at 11:16 PM ^

The fact that the AD was stupid enough to not realize that this was eventually going to happen is enough reason for him to lose his job.  After he watched those tapes he had two choices:

1)  Fire the coach in about 10 minutes

2)  FIND SOME WAY TO DESTROY ALL THE EVIDENCE

Anyone with an IQ north of 90 would have immediately realized that in the YouTube era, this footage getting out would be a disaster for Rutgers.  For him to not understand that is just unbelievable. 

WMU81

April 2nd, 2013 at 7:10 PM ^

This guy is in need of an ass whoopin.. Cant believe that a player never swung at him or choked the shit out him.. Good thing he didnt coach Sprewell.

Tater

April 2nd, 2013 at 7:36 PM ^

Usually, I'm on the side of disciplinarian coaches who yell a lot, but this guy transcends that kind of coaching.  Rice is one "disciplinarian" who needs to discipline himself first.