If you have not been made aware of already, the Head Coach, Assistant Coach, and Athletic Director have all either been fired or resigned from their posts at Rutgers University. Rutgers Men’s Basketball program came to a crushing halt when this video was revealed on ESPN’s Outside The Lines (www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbaYqcMMZ6A). These horrifying images show a disgruntled coach taking out his anger on his student athletes. When this video was shown to then Athletic Director Tim Pernetti last December, his final decision was not to fire former Head Coach Mike Rice, but to suspend him for three games (http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=9126174). After an outcry of anger from local politicians, celebrities, and communities nationwide Pernetti reevaluated Mike Rice’s actions, and on April 3rd one day after ESPN played the video of Rice, Pernetti fired his Head Basketball Coach. A few days later Assistant Coach Jimmy Martelli resigned, followed by Athletic Director Tom Pernetti (http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-rutgers-tim-pernetti-athletic-director-20130405,0,7102881.story).

Prior to the scandal, Rutgers was a program on the rise, and moving next year to the Big Ten Conference. Moreover, the Rutgers Head Coaching Job was one of the most newly coveted jobs in NCAA Basketball. However, after a scandal that lasted nearly one week, Rutgers has now become a tainted athletic program, with management that is just as bad. It’s no wonder Rutgers is having a hard time replacing its Head Coaching position. It seems that no one wants to accept a job where a coach can be allowed to abuse his players.

Already turned down by Head Coach Dan Hurley of Rhode Island, Rutgers can’t even get a mid-major candidate to come coach for a big time school like Rutgers (http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/04/dan_hurley_signs_contract_exte.html). However, It’s not just the Athletic Program that has taken a hit at Rutgers, recently employees were asking for the resignation of Rutgers President amidst the recent sandal. Moreover, according to Yahoo News the current Rutgers scandal could cost New Jersey tax payers millions of more dollars (http://news.yahoo.com/rutgers-scandal-could-cost-jersey-taxpayers-millions-more-215410480–nba.html).

Aside from shock of physical abuse, it seems that Rutgers has become a place where the athlete comes before the student. This is a result of poor management throughout the entire school. Ask yourself the question, would you want to send your child to Rutgers University. I know I would not, I want my child to feel safe where even they are. But this scandal has made me believe that Rutgers is a school that does tolerate physical and verbal abuse. Until Rutgers can prove that they are an institution that believes in moral rights I certainly believe that Rutgers has severely hurt its image as a University. But more than that, it would not surprise me to see their enrollment drop dramatically in the upcoming semesters. Rutgers has put themselves in a position they don’t want to be, and that is doubt. People always have doubt about Rutgers and its coaches, administrators, and faculty. For years to come Rutgers will no longer be the place where New Jersey citizens go to school, but a place where Mike Rice terrorized young student athletes.