Rutgers men’s basketball has parted ways with head coach Mike Rice for swearing, slurring, and hurling basketballs at his players.
Only, they already suspended him in December for the same thing. What changed?
ESPN released the video.
Viewers at home got a first-hand look at the emotional and physical abuse Rice was inflicting on his athletes.
That was all it took for the higher-ups at Rutgers to show him the door, with Athletic Director Tim Pernetti following soon after.
Rutgers was fine having a sociopath on staff, so long as no one found out.
But, fortunately for the men of the basketball program, this is all in the past. What happens now?
Nothing.
Literally nothing will change, and that’s the saddest part.
What is it about coaching as a profession that attracts the crazies? Sociopaths, dictators, and tyrants? This men (and women) that think themselves above the laws of human decency? We’ve long accepted that coaching means tough love, salty language, and a lot of shouting.
Why?
Has anyone ever learned a valuable lesson by having a 50 year-old man scream it in their face? Does that seem counterproductive to anyone else?
The profession needs to change.
“That’s just the way the game is” is no longer a legitimate excuse.
It’s not fair to sacrifice the mental and physical well-being of young men and women for the sake of victories and revenue dollars.
But isn’t that what the NCAA is best at?