Bullies aren't limited to grade school. We learned that clearly when ESPN exposed the outrageous video of Rutgers University men's basketball coach Mike Rice physically and verbally abusing his players.
What happened in that video was unbelievable. Yet even though that the room was filled with adults and young adults, all witnessing what was happening, only one man, Eric Murdoch, had the courage to stand up and speak out.
Even more shocking is that, though there are hours of evidence exposing Rice for being both a bully and a bigot, he gets to keep his job. Bear in mind that Rutgers is the school where Tyler Clementi committed suicide after being cyberbullied about being gay, so Rice's belittling of Rutgers students by calling them "faggots" seems even more cruel and insensitive.
I guess the memory of Rutgers leadership must be faulty and failing them, otherwise they might have picked up on this important piece of information and realized what a disgusting message they are sending by keeping Rice employed.
Check out the end of this interview and go to the 6:59 mark. I wish most news reporters had a fraction of the fire and dedication that the man interviewing Rutgers Athletic Director Tim Pernetti had when he slammed him on the hypocrisy of Rutgers pathetic response.
Out of all the shameful actions and reactions by Rutgers in this matter, there is one thing that glares out with fierce and blinding light; Pernetti's defense of Rice that this was his "first offense."
First offense? The first offense was the first time Rice threw a basketball at a student's head or kicked them or called them a derogatory name. There was only one "first offense," and it happened some time ago. To calculate all of the consecutive offenses would take some time, but based on the news reports I would hazard that we are talking dozens if not hundreds of offenses.
When Pernetti says this is Rice's first offense, what he means is that it's the first time they actually had to pay attention to what Rice did and take some rather lenient action. Furthermore, Pernetti, and all those who coddle abusive people, are really saying that you can bully and hurt students for as long as you want, without worry, because until you get caught, it's all just squeezed into one "first offense."
And to me, that is the most offensive thing of all.