Rutgers Basketball: Pernetti is Out, Eyes turn to President Barchi

     If you have not heard by now, then you probably are not much of an NCAA Basketball fan. If you are a basketball fan though, you have seen the video of Rutgers Coach Mike Rice harassing and violently “coaching” players.

     The video showed Rice grabbing, pushing, and yelling at his players. At several points, Rice is shown throwing basketballs at players and is even heard (although censored in Youtube videos like the one here) using phrases that even sailors and truckers would consider foul language.

     This video isn’t new though. It surfaced last December and when AD Tim Pernetti saw the video deemed that a three game suspension would suffice. But after the video made its way to the web, the public disagreed. Rutgers was forced to act again. On Wednesday, Rutgers fired Mike Rice.

     Following Rice’s termination, there were a number of questions asked, the most obvious of which was “Why wasn’t Rice fired in December when these videos were first seen by Tim Pernetti?” Throwing basketballs at players repeatedly is not a small deal. Pernetti should have known that a three game suspension was not enough.

     Jimmy Martelli, Rutgers assistant coach resigned yesterday, no doubt embarrassed by his own violence toward the players (which was also shown in the videos) and lack of action to prevent Rice’s abusive nature.

     Martelli’s resignation was likely the final straw for Rutgers. Following the videos that clearly showed Martelli partaking in the violence toward the team, why wasn't Martelli at least suspended like Rice? It makes us wonder, did Pernetti take an investigation of Rice’s actions seriously?

     Regardless of whether he did or not, this morning Pernetti paid the price for his inaction. Rutgers has released him from the Athletic Director position though no word has been released on whether he resigned or was fired. Pernetti will take part in a press conference at Rutgers at 1 o’clock.

     Besides waiting for Pernetti’s press conference, eyes have also shifted toward Rutgers President Robert Barchi. As president, it is the viewpoint of many that President Barchi should have watched the video and otherwise been aware of the actual actions that happened at the Rutgers Basketball practices.

     As a JMU student, I would find it interesting to learn the opinion of JMU President Jon Alger on the incident because Alger is a former Rutgers administrator. Eric Murdock, the former Rutgers basketball assistant that blew the whistle on the incident, has stated the former President McCormick contributed to Murdock’s wrongful termination last summer. President Emeritus McCormick spoke at President Alger’s inauguration earlier this semester so it is reasonable to conclude that President Alger has an opinion on the situation.

     Please note, that this is not accusing President Alger of anything. I respect President Alger and I believe that like much of the JMU community are hoping for Alger to be supportive of his former colleague and assure us that the appropriate actions are being taken at Rutgers University.