Just two weeks ago, all appeared to be calm for the Rutgers University Men’s Basketball program. After capping off a 15-16 season, head coach Mike Rice and the Scarlet Knights entered the offseason focused on recruiting and improving the squad, which finished 12^th in the ultra-competitive Big East conference. But with the calm, typically comes the storm right after.

As it stands currently, Mike Rice has been fired by Rutgers, and assistant coach Jimmy Martelli and athletic director Tim Pernetti have both resigned in the wake of an aired videotape displaying abusive behavior by Rice. The tape, consisting of practice footage from last year, showed Rice shoving players, throwing balls at them, and using gay slurs. Upon its broadcast on April 2, the clip sparked an outcry nationwide for Rice’s termination. Following suit, he was fired the very next day by Rutgers, after an internal review of his position.

Perhaps more troubling than the footage itself is the fact that April 2 wasn’t the first time the Rutgers athletic department had seen the video. Reports claim that former AD Tim Pernetti received copies of the tape through a former employee on Nov. 26 and after two investigations of allegations made against Rice and his coaching methods, Perdetti only suspended Rice for three games, fined him $50,000, and required him to attend anger management classes.

Discipline aside, this video continues the disturbing trend of verbal and physical abuse by coaches towards players on the collegiate level. Awareness really began to pick up following Nebraska head football coach Bo Pelini’s aggressive scolding of quarterback Taylor Martinez in 2010, and has remained a prevalent issue with two major incidents in college basketball this year alone. Texas Tech head basketball coach Billy Gillispie resigned last September in wake of alleged player mistreatment and over-practicing, and Cal head coach Mike Montgomery received an undisclosed punishment from the Pac-12 for shoving his player Allen Crabbe during a February game against USC.   

While the aforementioned parties have publicly apologized for their actions, these incidents highlight the growing need for a line to be drawn when it comes to disciplinary and motivational methods by coaches. Sports are filled with emotion and passion, but letting them get the best of you by touching a player or demeaning them with slurs is unacceptable. Despite the stress and pressures of the coaching profession to always yield a winning product, the fact of the matter is that they are getting paid six and seven figure salaries. Their livelihood isn’t in jeopardy, this isn’t a military academy, and there’s simply no excuse to be chucking line-drives at players during practice like Mike Rice.

As for Rutgers and Rice, the news isn’t completely bad at this point. Rutgers is nearing an agreement with former Washington Wizards coach Eddie Jordan, a calm and collected personality, to replace Rice. Meanwhile unemployment has been short-lived for Mike Rice, as he was recently seen coaching seventh grade girls AAU basketball in New Jersey, culminating what has been an unceremonious fall from grace for the former Rutgers man.