Shocking Video of Rutgers Coach Mike Rice: What Happened?
Opinion
By Alex Greenwood
Regarding the shocking video of Rutgers Coach Mike Rice verbally and physically abusing his basketball team, Christine Brennan of USA Today said it best:
Rutgers, of all universities, should have known better. Rutgers should have known that a coach who fires basketballs at the heads of his players and assaults them at practice should not keep his job. The so-called leaders of Rutgers University should have known that if a coach is hurling homophobic and misogynistic insults at his male players, he shouldn’t be allowed to represent the school for one more hour, much less four more months.
I worked public relations in higher education (a public university and a public college) for several years, and if it taught me one thing, it’s this: you don’t mess with people’s kids. Plainly: “professionals” on staff who abuse the trust parents place in educators as surrogates, teachers and protectors have but one place to go–and that’s out the door.
Except you don’t always see that when it comes to prominent (read: profitable) athletic departments. Unless the situation goes nuclear, from Penn State’s despicable handling of the Sandusky matter all the way to the embarrassing end to the Switzer era at my beloved University of Oklahoma, there seems to be a pattern of looking the other way when it comes to athletics. The most paper-thin of veneers about being an education institution of “higher learning first, college sports behemoth second” falls away amidst scandal–especially one complete with “shocking video”.
Mike Rice deserved to be fired. Just as did the coaches at Penn State and yes, good ol’ Barry–albeit for different reasons.
The public relations professional in me asks, why didn’t the PR staff do more to get in front of this? I know that were I, as PR director, made aware of what was happening on the court, I would have walked in to my president’s office and told him what was going on, the possible ramifications and where to see the proof. I would have explained that it only takes one person to upload a shocking video to YouTube, and just one person to link to it on Facebook or Twitter, before it all can go completely pear-shaped.
From there, I believe most university presidents would take immediate action (at least the ones who don’t give their athletic directors free rein over their department, with little or no oversight).
Perhaps the PR staff didn’t know? Maybe–but I just can’t see how word wouldn’t have filtered back somehow about shocking video of an anger management basket case abusing his students.
What do you think? I’m not arguing whether the coach deserved to be fired or not. I think he did and I’m glad it happened for the sake of the students. I’m asking, what would you, as the PR Director, have done in this situation? Would you have brought it to the president’s attention? What if the president ignored your advice? The comments section is open for your remarks.
