The fallout from the Mike Rice scandal continued Friday as Rutgers University Athletic Director Tim Pernetti has stepped down, according to the Associated Press.
The decision comes two days after Pernetti fired Rice, the Men's Basketball Coach at Rutgers. Rice was dismissed after a report on ESPN’s "Outside the Lines" revealed tape of Rice physically abusing his players and yelling homophobic slurs at them. It would also be revealed that Pernetti had received the tape in November, reviewed it, and decided that Rice deserved rehabilitation instead of firing. The coach was given a three-game suspension and fined $50,000—a decision that was approved my university president Robert Barchi.
According to ESPN Radio, many believed Pernetti’s job was safe because of the deal he made to move Rutgers to the Big 10 Conference. The move is expected to be one that will generate great revenue and publicity for the school.
However the outcry from the public, including faculty, might have been too much for the University to handle. According to ESPN’s Brett McMurphy, over 50 Rutgers faculty members signed a petition demanding that Pernetti be fired.
Erick Murdock, the former director of player development at Rutgers, told "Outside the Lines" discussed Rice’s abuse of the players with Pernetti in June and November. Murdock was fired in July by Pernetti and Rice. He is currently suing for wrongful termination.
Murdock also claimed that Rice’s misconduct caused three players to transfer to other schools.
According to ESPN Radio, Pernetti said he had spent most of his hiring interview with Rice discussing his reputation for being fiery. Nevertheless, he felt Rice was the man for the job.
Pernetti is the second person in 24 hours to resign due to the scandal. Former assistant to Rice, Jimmy Martelli—who was also shown on the video partaking in the abuse—resigned Thursday.
While there were many calling for Pernetti’s job, there were also those who wanted him to stay. Running back for the reigning Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens Ray Rice, a product of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, credits Pernetti with his success.
"That was what he wanted," Rice told the Star-Ledger of Newark. "He was telling me that to be a true pillar at Rutgers I needed to graduate. He wanted me to register for some online courses so I can get that done. I mean, I just won a Super Bowl and that's what he wanted!"
In Pernetti’s letter of resignation to Barchi, which can be read in its entirety here, he asked that his career at the university will be looked at as a whole.
“I trust that my tenure at Rutgers will not be judged by this one incident. I am proud of my efforts to lead Rutgers into the Big Ten, and of all of the accomplishments of our student-athletes in the classroom and on the field of play. I want to thank our great fans, the hardest working staff in collegiate athletics, and every one of our fine student-athletes. It has been my great pleasure to serve my alma mater.”
Pernetti was a tight end on the Rutgers football team from 1989-1993.
