WHY THE HELL HASN'T MIKE RICE BEEN FIRED YET?

Every light beer punchline I can think of is someplace I don't want to go.

 

From what I understand the sacred homeland of the Diouxche Nation is in what is now Durham, N.C.

 

It was once the norm that men would curse and carouse with their buddies but, if they said "gosh darn" in front of their mothers, the response would be a raised eyebrow and "Michael, you know I don't appreciate that sort of language."

Rice may be good at compartmentalization, if that's a word. Plenty of people are.

 

But let me ask you this - what if your daughter played on his team for a couple of years and he has been nothing but a great coach, teaching the game, working them hard, getting her better --- then the video came out?

Would you still feel the same way or would you be like these parents and take the "well he has been nothing but good to my daughter approach"?

That's my only point - this team he has coached for a couple of years so it isn't like he just took over and these parents are crazy for letting him coach their daughters.

 

I would not want my daughter to be in the spotlight on the team coached by Mike Rice. It would have nothing to do with his influence on her and everything to do with stigmatization. I don't believe in sticking by people out of the principle of sticking by people when it hurts you and you don't agree with what the person did, if that makes sense. If playing on the team would make my hypothetical daughter's life a little more complicated, it's not worth it. There's no moral imperative to stand behind an asshole when he's called out for being an asshole, even if he wasn't an asshole to you.

 

I know what you are saying and to some degree, I actually agree with you.

I don't think you just stand by an asshole but that being said, I try and treat people how they treat me and I'm not sure where I would stand on this situation.

And I think that you raise a good point -- where do you draw the line in a case like this?

I mean, if he was accused of going "Sandusky" on some kids but you had never witnessed it with your kid, clearly you would get her the hell off the team quickly.

But I don't know that this is the same as child abuse - it isn't by definition as all of the players in question were 18 or older.

So I would have to be in this situation, but I would say I'd probably lean to giving the coach the benefit of the doubt until he gives me a reason not to.

And the stuff about him yelling at refs at this tournament - I'm sure these parents have witnessed that for two years and it is nothing new.

Now, all of that being said - if I were Mike Rice I would take a deep breath and remove myself from this situation and really work on trying to learn how to control my anger while laying low.

No athletic director in his right mind is going to give him a second chance if they hear these reports from AAU youth tournaments, even if some of them are just hyperbole because he is who he is.

Why put yourself in that spot?

Just lay low.

 

Truly comical that you accuse me of intentionally trying to get a threat locked by doing something that violates board policy. Even better coming from the guy who whines about others being hypocrites.

 

Last word

 

Here's the hypothetical: Mike Rice coaches your 12-year-old daughter. He has helped improve her game, though she still never will be good enough to get a scholarship or even be a high school standout. He has been mostly nice to you in limited interactions, and she has never complained, though she also is not extra-attached to him. In other words, you, your daughter and Mike Rice have about the expected relationship as these things go.

Then the video comes out at Rutgers. Now your daughter's team is making news on websites of all stripes, from USA Today to Deadspin. Her friends and your friends hear about it. They know your daughter is on the team. You have no reason to think Rice has done anything similar to your daughter or any of the girls on the team, but by sticking with him, you are taking up his societal cause, essentially sticking out your nose to say you trust him. Why should you trust him enough for that kind of commitment? Why make your 12-year-old daughter take a stand for a guy like this at such a young age?

At the least, the prudent thing is to talk to your daughter about how she feels and whether she is ready for that kind of commitment. It becomes something much more than playing basketball at that point.

 

One thing is sure, if I were coaching a team AGAINST Rice, and we were in a game where Rice's team was not paying for (and thus controlling) the refs, and he said anything to the refs other than "fine call, gentlemen," I would raise the ante -- I would break all galactic records for going berserk myself, screaming to the rafters that the refs MUST eject him from the game to maintain control of the contest.

"What the hell, the rules don't apply to him because HE'S A MAJOR COLLEGE BASKETBALL COACH?!?!?!? WHOOOOOOPS I FORGOT, HE ***ISN'T *** A MAJOR COLLEGE BASKETBALL COACH ANY MORE, because he got FIRED FOR FLAGRANT VIOLATIONS OF MINIMUM STANDARDS OF BEHAVIOR!!"

If they didn't throw his ass out of the game, I'd pull my team off the floor. "WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO, BIG BOY, THOW A BASKETBALL AT MY HEAD??"

 

Starman Justice will be served.

 

Seems pretty tame for Starman Justice, to be honest. He got off light.