Video: Rutgers' Mike Rice Under Fire For Verbal, Physical Abuse Of Players
(CBS) A damaging report from ESPN's Outside The Lines could mean the end of head basketball coach Mike Rice's ride at Rutgers.
OTL obtained what it is calling "several-dozen hours" of video footage from Rutgers basketball practices where Rice is seen throwing basketballs at his players' heads, kicking them, pushing them and hurling graphic insults at various players.
Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti received roughly 30 minutes of footage depicting Rice's actions in December, resulting in a three-game suspension and $50,000 fine for the head coach, but the footage obtained by OTL appears to much more severe.
Before last season, Rice's outrageous behavior forced Gilvydas Biruta to transfer from Rutgers to Rhode Island.
"He would throw his cap at me and he would call me many names," said Biruta, who was born in Lithuania but played high school basketball in New Jersey. "The adjectives were creative. They were mean words."
Ex-NBA player Eric Murdock, a former director of player development for the Scarlet Knights, discussed some of the abuse Biruta received from his head coach.
"The one thing I hated," Murdock said of Rice, "he would always talk about 'Lithuanian this, Lithuanian that,' talk about where he's from -- 'soft-ass Lithuanian b--ch," soft-ass Lithuanian pu--y.' His nickname was basically 'Lithuanian fa--ot.' "
Check out the video below of Rice's conduct during a series of Rutgers practices.
