ATLANTA – Here at the Final Four, which is supposed to be the zenith of the college basketball season, the topic of former Mike Rice’s boorish behavior that led to his firing on Wednesday eclipsed the celebratory atmosphere.
The response from the four coaches and NCAA president Mark Emmert, all of whom had seen the video showing shocking physical and verbal abuse, was harsh, unwavering and uniform:
“I find that video pretty appalling, to say the least,” said Emmert.
“I watched 10 seconds of the video,” said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim. “I couldn’t watch it, honestly. I couldn’t watch it anymore.”
In the video Rice, who was fined $50,000 and suspended for three games after athletic director Tim Pernetti became aware of the behavior, is seen pushing, kicking and throwing basketballs at player’s heads.
He also is heard using profanity and anti-gay language. It was shocking Rice wasn’t fired outright, considering a former Rutgers student, Tyler Clementi, committed suicide after being outed in a video.
“I think all the coaches in the community are disappointed at how that transpired,” said Michigan coach John Beilein. “I don’t know Mike Rice well enough. I don’t know the athletic director enough.
“But I know that in this day and age, there’s certain lines you’re not going to cross with your student‑athletes.”
The coaches were united in their belief that Rice’s behavior is an isolated incident even though there is a history of coaches crossing the line.
Former Indiana coach Bobby Knight is the most famous coach who crossed the line. He is not the last.
“This is an isolated incident that doesn’t happen in college basketball,” said Louisville coach Rick Pitino. “Those things do not happen.
“As a pro coach, I would go to every city and go see a college practice. You know, I’ve seen some coaches that may use rough language. But that just doesn’t go on. It’s just an aberration that just doesn’t go on in college basketball.”
Rutgers went 15-16 this season, 5-13 in the Big East. He was 44-51 overall and 16-38 in league games.
“I think the tragedy is his team would have played exactly the same or better if he hadn’t done any of that,” said Boeheim. “If he never threw a ball, if he never touched anybody, his team would have played I think better, in my experience.”