Rutgers fires harassing basketball coach, nation debates controversial coaching

And while Tuesday was the first time the public saw the footage, Rutgers Athletic Director Tim Pernetti has been aware of Rice’s violent behavior since November and is now under ambush for not firing Rice on the spot.

Instead, Pernetti suspended Rice for three games, slapped him with a $50,000 fine and insisted Rice take anger management classes.

Rice’s outbursts at his players is reminiscent of Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight who was caught on video in 1997 gripping the throat of one of his players. But while it’s taken only a few months to fire Rice, it took three years to fire Knight.

“I am responsible for the decision to attempt a rehabilitation of Coach Rice,” Pernetti said in a 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.”

On Wednesday, Rice also expressed remorse for his action and admitted his violent behavior was inexcusable.

“There will never be a time when I use any of that as an excuse,” Rice told ESPN in an interview conducted outside of his home. “I’ve let so many people down. My players, my administration, Rutgers University, the fans. My family, who’s sitting in their house just huddled around because of the fact that their father was an embarrassment to them … I want to tell everybody who’s believed in me that I’m deeply sorry for the pain and hardship that I’ve caused.”

In 2000, in a situation very similar to what happened to Rice, CNNSports Illustrated aired a video of Knight choking former player Neil Reed and Indiana was forced to let go of one of the most winningest coaches of all time.

And Knight and Rice aren’t the only NCAA basketball coaches using violent coaching methods to “motivate” their players.

In 2011, John O’Connor, who at the time was the coach at Holy Family University, was caught on camera knocking a player to the ground. O’Connor resigned once the footage was aired, but others still defended the coach claiming it was a one time occurrence.

Now, O’Connor is an assistant coach for Lafayette College.

Rice’s firing is now sparking a nationwide debate on where you draw the line to motivate your players and many argue that screaming obscenities and throwing basketballs at your players is not only not acceptable — it’s bullying.

Senator Frank R. Lautenberg and Representative Rush D. Holt, both New Jersey Democrats, say Rice’s behavior is a call to action to pass an anti-bullying bill.

According to the pair, the legislation would “implement policies strictly prohibiting faculty from bullying students and this incident highlights the need for Congress to support our bill.”

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie also agreed in a string of tweets Wednesday, that firing Rice from the state’s largest public university was the right thing to do.

Update: Rutgers University must pay Rice a $100,000 bonus outlined in his contract. The university could be hit with a lawsuit if it refused to pay the bonus.