Putting the 'loco' in 'in loco parentis'

People are saying it was outrageous that this Mike

A well-reasoned leader of men, Rice.

Rice, basketball coach at Rutgers University in New Jersey, was such a brutal oaf, hitting his players with basketballs, grabbing them by their uniforms and yanking them around, and berating them by using awful terms used by brutal oafs to refer to gay people.

I guess that's why he used that sort of language, brutal oaf that he is.

So he got a can tied to him yesterday, fired in disgrace after ESPN aired a video of his dastardly deeds and seemingly psychotic behavior.

But that's not what bothers me.

What bothers me is that Rice's boss, Tim Pernetti, Athletic Director at Rutgers, was told about all this back in November.  Someone in the gym during a practice shot a video and shared it with the big boss.  Pernetti took action then:  a $50,000 fine (which would suggest that Rice's salary was far above that of the average English Lit professor) and a three-game suspension.

Pernetti said, “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.”

Which translates to: "I found out that this joker was out of control last fall and I took some money from him and sat him down for a few games and told him to go get help, but now that everyone around the world has seen his unhinged behavior, out he goes!"


There is a phrase in Latin used in educational circles...In loco parentis (in the place of the parents), which means the school takes some responsibility for the care and nurturing of students.  People sent their sons to play basketball at Rutgers, a state college, and had them abused and cursed at, subjected to physical violence and exposed to the deranged activities of this fool.  Why Pernetti thought he could sweep this under the rug in a day and time in which everything that happens in the world happens in front of multiple cameras is anyone's guess.

As is how long he will have his job.