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A group of 13 Rutgers University faculty members are calling on Robert Barchi to resign as the school’s president after video surfaced showing now-former men’s basketball coach Mike Rice shoving players and directing homophobic slurs at them during practices.
ESPN’s Outside the Lines aired the troubling video footage Tuesday.
Rutgers fired Rice on Wednesday morning as criticism mounted, including from Gov. Chris Christie and other New Jersey officials.
Rutgers suspended Rice for three games, fined him $50,000 and ordered him to undergo anger management counseling in December after it reviewed the video footage.
That wasn’t enough, according to the 13 faculty members, who labeled the December punishment an “inexcusable handling” of the situation.
Barchi acknowledged in a statement issued through the school Wednesday that he agreed with the punishment at the time.
Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti is also under fire in the wake of the video’s public release.
“I am responsible for the decision to attempt a rehabilitation of Coach Rice,” Pernetti said in a statement. “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.”
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