Rice s termination comes nearly four months after the university s athletic director Tim Pernetti suspended him for three games and fined him $50 000 with little elaboration. On Wednesday Pernetti said that he erred in not taking stronger action and that he would work to regain the trust of the Rutgers community.
Rutgers announced Rice s termination on its Twitter account Wednesday morning saying Based upon recently revealed information and a review of previously discovered issues Rutgers has terminated the contract of Mike Rice.
ESPN broadcast video on Tuesday from practices from 2010 to 2012 that showed Rice s conduct at practices. The video went viral putting scrutiny on Rutgers and prompting the university to take further action.
Rice told reporters outside his home Wednesday that he apologized for the pain and hardship that I've caused ESPN reported.
I ve let so many people down he said to the reporters. 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.
It s troubling but I will at some time maybe I ll try to explain it but right now there s no explanation for what s on those films. Because there is no excuse for it. I was wrong. I want to tell everybody who s believed in me that I m deeply sorry.
In a statement posted on the Rutgers Web site Wednesday Pernetti said 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. Moving forward I will work to regain the trust of the Rutgers community.
The Rutgers president Robert L. Barchi also released a statement calling the initial punishment of Rice a mistake even though he had been informed of Rice s behavior and was involved in the decision to suspend Rice and fine him.
Yesterday I personally reviewed the video evidence which shows a chronic and pervasive pattern of disturbing behavior Barchi said in the statement posted on the Rutgers Web site. I have now reached the conclusion that Coach Rice cannot continue to serve effectively in a position that demands the highest levels of leadership responsibility and public accountability. He cannot continue to coach at Rutgers University. Therefore Tim Pernetti and I have jointly decided to terminate Mike Rice s employment at Rutgers.
The videos showed Rice taunting his players with offensive slurs used against gays a scene that is likely to prove especially problematic for Rutgers.
Tyler Clementi was an 18 year old freshman at Rutgers when he killed himself in 2010 after discovering that his roommate had secretly used a webcam to spy on him in an intimate encounter with another man in his dorm room.
The suicide focused national attention on the issue of bullying and the victimization of gay youth and Rutgers became the focal point of a heated dialogue that drew in everyone from President Obama to Ellen DeGeneres and prompted New Jersey lawmakers to enact the nation s toughest laws against bullying and harassment.
Dharun Ravi the roommate who spied on Clementi was convicted on all 15 charges last year including bias intimidation a hate crime based on the victim s sexual orientation. Ravi was not charged in Clementi s death.
Gov. Chris Christie said he supported the decision to fire Rice calling it a regrettable episode.
The move to terminate Rice is a significant departure from Pernetti s position just a few weeks ago when he publicly backed Rice after a 15 16 season. On Tuesday he again told reporters Rice would not be fired barring any further incident.
Pernetti hired Rice before the 2010 11 season one of his early hires in his tenure as athletic director.
At the time of his hiring Rice a Fordham graduate was billed as a good fit to add new energy to the struggling Rutgers basketball program. Rutgers signed Rice to a five year contract and Pernetti heralded his hiring saying he was an excellent head coach with a contagious energy and an unrivaled work ethic. He added that he would bring excitement and pride to the university the great state of New Jersey and the tristate area.
Rice previously coached at Robert Morris compiling a 73 31 record there and making a name for himself by leading the school to two appearances in the N.C.A.A. tournament.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction
Correction April 3 2013
An earlier version of a picture caption with this article misstated the day Mike Rice was fired. It was Wednesday not Monday.
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