If you thought the behavior of Rutgers men’s basketball coach Mike Rice was bad, just wait until you meet Coach Sheila Kelly on this week’s ‘Saturday Night Live.’
Kelly, played by actress Melissa McCarthy, takes harsh coaching to a whole new level. In footage of Middle Delaware State team practices, the fictitious coach doesn’t just throw basketballs at her players and call them names — she also uses a t-shirt cannon to hit them, chucks bricks at them, makes them serve her meals and drives a golf cart through practice. She even enters a classroom to throw basketballs at her players and tases the professor.
Much like Rutgers Athletic Director Tim Pernetti — who knew of Rice’s behavior, but didn’t initially fire him — Middle Delaware State Athletic Director Bill Crenshaw defends Kelly’s behavior.
“Is Coach Kelly unconventional? Sure,” Crewshaw, played by Tim Robinson, says. “Have most, if not all the players, come to my office and begged for me to replace her? Uhh, yeah. But playing college ball isn’t supposed to be easy, or fun, or rewarding — it’s supposed to make money for the university.”
McCarthy is perfect in her role as the fiery coach, delivering a downright hilarious performance. But even more perfect is the fact that ‘SNL‘ chose to mock the ridiculous behavior of Rice — and the equally ridiculous choice of Pernetti to let the offensive and unprofessional coach continue on at Rutgers even after learning of his actions.
Nice one, ‘SNL.’
Watch the skit below:
