After the revelation of men's basketball coach Mike Rice's slurs and abuse during practice, Rutgers University has been criticized for not acting sooner and appropriately. Now Athletics Director Tim Pernetti has left the university—but insists in his resignation letter, "As you know, my first instincts when I saw the videotape of Coach Rice's behavior was to fire him immediately. However, Rutgers decided to follow a process involving university lawyers, human resources professionals, and outside counsel."
On Tuesday, ESPN's Outside The Lines featured footage of Rice's coaching, which showed him calling a player a "f---ing fa---t" and throwing basketballs at players, sometimes in the face (Rice said in one instance, "I hope that hurt. Did it hurt?”). When video of the abusive behavior was shown to Pernetti last November, Rice was suspended for three games and fined $50,000 in December. But the public outcry this week forced Rice's dismissal, and Pernetti said on Wednesday, "I am responsible for the decision to attempt a rehabilitation of Coach Rice. 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."
Pernetti, the charismatic athletic director who was instrumental in getting Rutgers into the Big Ten, emphasized to NBC New York's Bruce Beck that he was "not fired" and Pernetti's wife said it was "unfair... Tim Pernetti is the best athletic director that they could ever have—always does the right thing."
Rutgers President Robert Barchi was told about Rice's abusive behavior in November, but says he relied on Pernetti, an independent investigation and legal counsel when he agreed that Rice should only be suspended. But then Barchi claims that when saw the video on Tuesday and realized then that Rice should be fired.
The Star-Ledger notes, "Pernetti, 42, was hired in 2009 -- signing a five-year contract worth $410,000 annually, with an annual performance bonus of $50,000 and a $12,000 annual car stipend. That contract is due to expire in June 2014—months before Rutgers begins competing in the Big Ten."
Eric Murdock, a former assistant coach, provided the tape of Rice's behavior to university officials last year when trying to get his job back. Apparently Murdock believed he was fired unfairly and was willing to settle things for $950,000. The university refused, and Murdock took the tape to ESPN. Now Murdock has sued Rutgers for wrongful termination. Murdock's lawyer also denies any claims of extortion, "It’s not where we gave it to them and said, ‘Hey, give us this or we’re doing this or that.’ Frankly, it was a response to their request for a settlement demand. There’s nothing atypical about it. It’s a settlement discussion to resolve the case."
