Burying the Lead Under A Mound of Rice

"Burying The Lead" is one my favorite clichés because it refers to something that happens way too much.

A person or persons being way too excited about the wrong thing.

Those of you who have not heard about the scandal at Rutgers, familiarize yourself here.  You need to have the background to understand the rest of this.

Yes, Mike Rice's actions were egregious.  Yes, he absolutely should have been fired.  But the firing should have taken place back in November, when the videotape was first given to Athletic Director Tim Pernetti.  Once that didn't happen, it ceased to be about Mike Rice.

And it became all about Tim Pernetti.

When the videotaped behavior resurfaced via the recent "Outside The Lines" segment on ESPN, Pernetti should have been fired first.  Instead, he offered up this little nugget before he even considered firing Rice.

"I think now that [the videotape] is out there -- we knew it was going to get out there.  The reaction -- we knew what it was going to be.  I need to sit here and think about what gives us the ability to be effective going forward in men's basketball, and more importantly, what protects the university."

If he was serious about this, he would have fired Rice.  The first time.  Instead he was now forced to think about "protecting the university".  After that comment, it was surprising he was still in a position of power at the university, much less being allowed to continue to exhibit his nonchalance towards the university's good name.

When Pernetti finally did fire Rice a day later, he offered up yet another pearl of wisdom...

"I am responsible for the decision to attempt a rehabilitation of Coach Rice.  Dismissal and corrective action were debated in December and I thought it was in the best interest of everyone to rehabilitate, but I was wrong.  Moving forward, I will work to regain the trust of the Rutgers community."

Rehabilitate?  Why didn't he say that the first time?  If that was even remotely true, Pernetti would have immediately led with that information when first questioned.  The great thing about the sports world is they love a good rehab story.  The headlines are littered with "reclamation projects" who not only made good of themselves but made doubly good by taking others along for the ride.  Instead, his first comments referred to the videotape getting out which was damning enough evidence that he wasn't really concerned about the basketball program.  Or the kids.

Lost in this is the fact that the employee that reported this initially to Pernetti, Eric Murdock was fired by Rutgers soon thereafter, although Pernetti denies he was fired.  If that was true, why is Murdock now suing the university for wrongful termination? 

And if these questions and quotes were not enough for you--this last tidbit says all you need to know about college sports today.  This one comes from a "source" close to the Board of Trustees who, according to ESPN.com, said that Pernetti's job is safe for now because of the work he did to get Rutgers admission, along with Maryland, to the Big Ten and their wealth of dollars from their television network.

There you have it folks.  The man who didn't act responsibly the first time the violation was reported.  The same man who didn't act responsibly the second time when the violation became national news.  And the man who fired an assistant soon after he reported misconduct by Rice last June--back when this could have been handled professionally, including a legitimate, documented, full blown rehab effort.  That man's job is safe.

Because when it comes down to it, money trumps everything.  "Protecting the university" doesn't refer to the reputation, the kids, or the community.

It refers to the almighty dollar.  Something that, unfortunately as of right now, Pernetti is still earning.

And that is the true lead.

Peace,
Reg