Mike Rice, the disgraced former Rutgers basketball coach, will receive $475k in a settlement with the public university. He was fired for physically and verbally abusing his players; however, he was not fired “for cause” which allows him to collect this compensation from Rutgers.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was critical of the settlement.
The coach is not the first to walk away with a pretty good deal. Former Athletic Director Tim Pernetti was given a significant sum following his dismissal.
However, New Jersey taxpayers have to be particularly disturbed about their money going to the coach who disgraced the entire university with his habitual behavior of putting his hands on players, throwing basketballs at them, and verbally abusing the student-athletes.
On Thursday, Robert Barchi, Rutgers University President, was in Trenton to answer question from lawmakers about the school’s $487-million proposed aid package.
This settlement does allow the university to move on from this embarrassing episode. The Scarlet Knights will now be entering the Big Ten conference with their newly-hired coach Eddie Jordan. The Los Angeles Lakers assistant is a former standout player for the program.
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