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The firing of Mike Rice had nothing to do with political correctness, everything to do with justice.

Colin D. | April 3, 2013

“Mike Rice’s misdeeds were indefensible. Still, there are plenty of people trying to defend them. The fact that he was terminated this morning is seen by some as a reaction not to what Mike Rice did, but to the outrage it spawned.”

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Rutgers University’s head basketball coach Mike Rice should have been fired months ago over the mistreatment of student athletes, which was revealed in the practice video reel that ESPN’s Outside the Lines televised yesterday. The fact that he wasn’t – and that he was instead only suspended for three games – means that Rutgers Athletic Director Tim Pernetti should also be immediately terminated. The behavior Rice exhibited constituted abuse, plainly and simply. For his superior to have soft-pedaled his initial punishment after bearing witness Rice’s berating, kicking and physically assaulting players borders on criminal.

Mike Rice’s misdeeds were indefensible. Still, there are plenty of people trying to defend them. The fact that he was terminated this morning is seen by some as a reaction not to what Mike Rice did, but to the outrage in spawned. Some argue that coaching techniques like the ones he used are time-honored and that, in the days of men like Paul “Bear” Bryant, players got smacked around all the time.

Times change. Bear Bryant coached at the University of Alabama for 25 years, beginning in 1958. His reputation was that of a tough-as-nails coach, a man to be feared, the type of guy and athlete would not want to cross. He doubtlessly employed methods like those that got Mike Rice fired. That doesn’t make what Rice did okay and more than it was okay that African-Americans had to drink from specific drinking fountains, eat at specific tables in restaurants and sit at the back of the bus back in “Bear Bryant’s day”. There are many examples of things that were once accepted as normal that society frowns on today.

Some people point to Rice’s removal as emblematic of the “wussification” of America and imply that it was motivated by political correctness. That assertion is ridiculous. No college professor would ever get away with striking students, and no coach should either. This was not just verbal abuse; it was physical and psychological as well. No player in any sport at any level deserved to be treated that way.

It’s sickening that some former athletes are attempting to cover for Mike Rice and downplaying what he did. Most people would be arrested for doing those things. The fact that Mike Rice happens to have been a basketball coach shouldn’t make him any different.

Written by Colin D.





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