Mike Rice, Rutgers Basketball Coach, Could Be Fired After Abusing Players (VIDEO)
A recent video showing Rutgers men's basketball coach shouting obscenities and throwing basketballs at his players has gone viral, prompting calls that the school's athletic director step in and take action.
News of the video spread after it aired on ESPN on Tuesday, but when asked, Rutgers officials revealed they had already seen the video. The short video shows head coach Mike Rice pushing, kicking and throwing basketballs at his players during practice.
The video was a culmination of several practices taking place late last year. The tape contains several instances of Rice hitting players with basketballs in the back, legs, and chest as well as cursing and shouting various slurs at the players.
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When school officials got wind of his behavior last December, Rutgers fined Rice $50,000 and suspended him for three games. Now that the video has become public knowledge, many in the state of New Jersey are wondering why Rice is still able to coach at the university.
"Governor Christie saw the video today for the first time and he is obviously deeply disturbed by the conduct displayed and strongly condemns this behavior," the governor's spokesman Michael Drewniak said in a statement.
"It's not the type of leadership we should be showing our young people and clearly there are questions about this behavior that need to be answered by the leaders at Rutgers University," he added.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Rutgers Athletic director Tim Pernetti revealed that the university was reevaluating Rice's current employment and that he saw the video last November after a former employee gave it to him. Pernetti added that he told Rice to attend anger management classes as part of his punishment as well.
Others in the sports world were shocked to see the video.
"If my son played for Rutgers or a coach like that he would have some real explaining to do and I'm still gone whoop on him afterwards! C'mon," Miami Heat star LeBron James posted his Twitter account.
