Rutgers Assistant Coach Resigns

[redheadbaker]

www.postbulletin.com/sports/national/college/rutgers-assistant-martelli-resigns-amid-scandal/article_4c2d45be-2415-553a-b616-98ed08682507.html

A Rutgers athletic department spokesman confirmed Thursday that assistant coach Jimmy Martelli had left the program.

Coach Mike Rice was fired on Wednesday after a video was made public showing him shoving and kicking players, throwing basketballs at them and berating them with gay slurs.

Martelli's decision was first reported by The Star-Ledger ( bit.ly/11sU4ke). The newspaper also reported that Martelli was seen in a portion of the video that was not broadcast on television shoving a player during a practice.

"I am sickened that as an assistant coach, I contributed in any way to an unacceptable culture. Wednesday, I resigned from Rutgers and I hope that coaches on all levels will learn something important from these events," Martelli said in a statement released by a law firm. "For my actions, I am deeply sorry and I apologize to the players from the bottom of my heart."

Martelli, who also coached with Rice at Robert Morris, is the son of St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli. He was hired by Rutgers in May 2010.

Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti was asked on Tuesday whether Martelli was seen shoving players on the videotape.

"Jimmy was spoken to about the manner. We dealt with that," Pernetti told reporters after screening the Rice videotape for them. "Certainly the tape focused on Mike but it brought some other things to light that we dealt with at the same time that we dealt with Mike."

A native of Media, Pa., Martelli served as an assistant coach at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va., in 2006-07. He helped recruit a freshman class that was integral in the school achieving a No. 1 national ranking and its first Division III Final Four appearance in 2009-10.

Martelli began his coaching career in 2005-06 as an assistant Dickinson College, in Carlisle, Pa., where he was the starting point guard for two years.

In addition to his coaching and playing experience, Martelli has worked at notable basketball camps. He worked the prestigious Eastern Invitational Basketball Camp from 2004-2007 and also served as director of the Saint Joseph's summer camp for eight years.

[Deleted]

Oh now he's sickened?? Uh huh

[Deleted]

Ironic that he's apologetic now. Did anyone watch the interview on CNN (I think it was CNN) last night? He was pathetic. Um, sorry. Too little, too late.

[iammalcolmx]

Bitch boo bye

[redheadbaker]

There are calls for the university president to resign, too.

[redheadbaker]

Athletic Director Tim Pernetti also gone. Unclear yet if he resigned or was fired. Press conference at 1 p.m. today.

[Deleted]

He was fired. He refused to resign.

The alumni are furious over this.

The only people who wanted the AD gone were those who knew nothing about him until 3 days ago.

[redheadbaker]

Apr 5, 2013 9:38:27 GMT -5 @iheartcosmos said:

He was fired. He refused to resign.

The alumni are furious over this.

The only people who wanted the AD gone were those who knew nothing about him until 3 days ago.

Why are the alumni furious?

[Deleted]

Apr 5, 2013 9:40:43 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

Apr 5, 2013 9:38:27 GMT -5 @iheartcosmos said:

He was fired. He refused to resign.

The alumni are furious over this.

The only people who wanted the AD gone were those who knew nothing about him until 3 days ago.

Why are the alumni furious?

Because we didn't want Pernetti fired.

This article sums up how I feel about the whole situation- www.onthebanks.com/2013/4/4/4181760/the-villains-who-deserves-the-most-scrutiny-from-the-mike-rice-scandal

The school is going to lose millions in donations because of this firing.  Everyone supported the firing of Rice but NONE of us support the firing of Pernetti (and the probable firing of President Barchi).

[barcelonagirl]

I don't know Cosmos - I'm an alum and I just don't care. We're still getting our season tickets this year. Same as every year. I think the whole "school is going to lose millions" is bs. We're in the Big 10 now. Money will come.

[Deleted]

Apr 5, 2013 10:39:39 GMT -5 barcelonagirl said:

I don't know Cosmos - I'm an alum and I just don't care. We're still getting our season tickets this year. Same as every year. I think the whole "school is going to lose millions" is bs. We're in the Big 10 now. Money will come.

High Point Solutions isn't continuing their 6million dollar sponsorship of the stadium. That's not BS. 

Plus we aren't in the B1G yet, not until 2014, and we won't get full revenue shares for years. 

Plus the fact we need to majorly upgrade facilities to even compete in the B1G means spending money we dont have yet.

And what's stopping the B1G from saying, Eff this, we don't want you anymore?

[annieblah]

General Counsel as well (per my BIL post-he's an alum and has been following)

[barcelonagirl]

Apr 5, 2013 10:50:17 GMT -5 @iheartcosmos said:

Apr 5, 2013 10:39:39 GMT -5 barcelonagirl said:

I don't know Cosmos - I'm an alum and I just don't care. We're still getting our season tickets this year. Same as every year. I think the whole "school is going to lose millions" is bs. We're in the Big 10 now. Money will come.

High Point Solutions isn't continuing their 6million dollar sponsorship of the stadium. That's not BS. 

    I can't find this anywhere.  Can you source it?

[Deleted]

Apr 5, 2013 9:52:31 GMT -5 @iheartcosmos said:

Apr 5, 2013 9:40:43 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

Why are the alumni furious?

Because we didn't want Pernetti fired.

This article sums up how I feel about the whole situation- www.onthebanks.com/2013/4/4/4181760/the-villains-who-deserves-the-most-scrutiny-from-the-mike-rice-scandal

The school is going to lose millions in donations because of this firing.  Everyone supported the firing of Rice but NONE of us support the firing of Pernetti (and the probable firing of President Barchi).

I'm three paragraphs in and I want to stab the author in the face and you for putting this bullshit up here with a straight face.

[Deleted]

Apr 5, 2013 11:12:11 GMT -5 barcelonagirl said:

Apr 5, 2013 10:50:17 GMT -5 @iheartcosmos said:

High Point Solutions isn't continuing their 6million dollar sponsorship of the stadium. That's not BS. 

    I can't find this anywhere.  Can you source it?

of course. This was posted last night.

rutgers.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=642&tid=163811170&mid=163811170&sid=988&style=2

and explore the rest of the message board and see for yourself the general reaction from alumni.

[barcelonagirl]

Apr 5, 2013 11:18:02 GMT -5 @iheartcosmos said:

Apr 5, 2013 11:12:11 GMT -5 barcelonagirl said:

    I can't find this anywhere.  Can you source it?

of course. This was posted last night.

rutgers.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=642&tid=163811170&mid=163811170&sid=988&style=2

and explore the rest of the message board and see for yourself the general reaction from alumni.

    Forgive me if I do not take tweets seriously.  I also do not believe message boards members speak for the entire alumni.  

[Deleted]

Since we're making comparisons to alumni, weren't most of Penn State's alumni in favor of maintaining Joe Pa's legacy?

Honestly, I don't give a fuck what the alumni wants. Some shit is bullshit. This qualifies and so does everyone who stood around and thought it was cool.

[Knight]

@iheartcosmos The big 10 won't back out of the Rutgers deal because they want a slice of the NY/NJ market. We didn't kick Penn State out did we? Almost every school goes through one scandal or another regarding it's sports program and all you can do is deal with it and move swiftly on. The moving on part generally includes firing everyone. That's just the way it is with these things. Take your lumps and almost everyone will forget it in a few years.

[Deleted]

I'm tired of repeating myself so I'll direct you to the thread on MM.

[redheadbaker]

Apr 5, 2013 11:49:07 GMT -5 @iheartcosmos said:

I'm tired of repeating myself so I'll direct you to the thread on MM.

Read that thread. I agree with sometimesrunner -- 

"If Rice would have been fired in December and this tape would have come out then, Pernetti would have come out looking like a freaking hero. If the Big 10 negotiations had anything to do with Rice staying on, then he should be fired. You can't put money ahead of your players. I'm probably in the minority but how would firing a coach that abuses your players be a bad thing? Don't we want ADs that make decisions that benefit the athletes and not "lay low"?"

[zelda25]

Apr 5, 2013 11:53:44 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

Apr 5, 2013 11:49:07 GMT -5 @iheartcosmos said:

I'm tired of repeating myself so I'll direct you to the thread on MM.

Read that thread. I agree with sometimesrunner -- 

"If Rice would have been fired in December and this tape would have come out then, Pernetti would have come out looking like a freaking hero. If the Big 10 negotiations had anything to do with Rice staying on, then he should be fired. You can't put money ahead of your players. I'm probably in the minority but how would firing a coach that abuses your players be a bad thing? Don't we want ADs that make decisions that benefit the athletes and not "lay low"?"

Agreed.  I'm pretty sick and fucking tired of the "he made a bad call this one time, but he does sooooo much for the program!" crap when it comes to coaches, ADs, school administrators.  The Paterno defenders cloaked themselves in this garbage, too. Is it so much to ask that these people be good for the school AND have more character and common sense than a housefly?

[Deleted]

H is an alum and he's pretty mad - not because these people are leaving/being fired, but because it has taken so long (he thinks Pernetti should have fired Rice in December.)

Of course he also said they should "shitcan the whole basketball program and give the money to track" so you can see his bias here.

He also pointed out to me that apparently the AD can see the basketball court in the RAC from his office, so he doubts the AD didnt realize this kind of stuff was going on before December, which is part of the reason why he is glad Pernetti is gone.

[ering1115]

Yowzers! His family must be mortified. His dad has run the SJU team cleanly for years and is known as a stand-up guy in the sports world. I remember him helping out with my grade school team. This has to hurt the SJU legacy as well since Mike Rice was a coach there too. Ouch.

I agree with a clean sweep of the bball coaching staff. I am torn on the AD decision- it is a money hungry school and it would be tough to reconcile your morals with the need to keep your student athletes funded and keep your job. Rutgers has taken some big hits in the last 5-10 years on its men's sports teams (rowing, swiming and diving, wrestling) and it would suck to see them lose another team based on lost revenue from the scandal. Just a crap situation all around.

[Deleted]

www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2013/04/tim_pernettis_resignation_as_r.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Angered by the resignation of Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti as part of the fallout from the Mike Rice scandal, two major donors to the school said today they will have to re-think their financial commitments going forward.

Daniel Wheeler, a founding member of the Society of Queens College, where membership requires a minimum of $1 million donated over a lifetime, said he was upset the school ignored the persistent pleas of prominent donors to keep Pernetti.

Pernetti announced his resignation today after four years on the job, just two days after Rice resigned as basketball coach following the release of a video that shows a pattern of physical and verbal abuse of players during practice.

"Everybody who supports Rutgers Athletics in a big way -- with the exception of one person I spoke to -- made it clear they wanted Pernetti to stay," said Wheeler, also a member of the school's Board of Overseers, which governs Rutgers' fundraising arm. "I won't say numbers, but I've given over seven figures, and like a lot of people who have done the same I support Tim Pernetti. We all stood up for Tim and the school ignored us.

"How can I write Rutgers another check? I have a big one due in June. How can I write that when they completely ignored us?"

Tom Mendiburu, the co-founder of High Point Solutions, said he wanted to review his options before making a decision. High Point Solutions is approaching the third year of a 10-year, $6 million naming rights contract for the school's football stadium.

Mendiburu said there is an opt-out clause in the contract "for situations like this."

"I'm not sure what we're going to do, because our relationship was with Tim Pernetti," he said. "That's the reason we signed this deal. We'll have to look at things and decide. But it's very disappointing to see this happen to Tim Pernetti."

Rutgers has already collected approximately $1.2 million from Mendiburu's company for the naming rights. The contract runs through 2019 with an option for two more years.

Assistant basketball coach Jimmy Martelli and interim university legal counsel John Wolf have also resigned this week as a result of the video tape that was aired nationally by ESPN.

Pernetti, in a statement issued this afternoon, said his initial reaction was to fire Rice in the fall after the tape was presented to him, but was advised against doing so by the school. Rice instead received a three-game suspension and $50,000 fine.



and

www.nj.com/rutgersbasketball/index.ssf/2013/04/tim_pernetti_i_wanted_to_fire.html

As Rutgers president Robert Barchi and other school officials prepared for a news conference in New Brunswick, Pernetti issued a letter on his departure from a job he had held since February 2009.

Dear Dr. Barchi:

I write in confirmation of our conversation earlier today during which we agreed that it was in the best interests of Rutgers University that I step down from my position as Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. I do so reluctantly because I always have and always will love Rutgers. I want to thank the people who have supported me throughout my years as a student-athlete and Athletic Director and help them understand my reasoning in this situation.

My continued tenure as Athletic Director is no longer sustainable for the University which I attended and where a piece of me will always remain. In connection with the incidents involving former basketball Coach Mike Rice, as was the case with all other matters which I handled on behalf of the University, I always tried my best to do what is right. I have spent a great deal of time reflecting on the events which led to today. As you know, my first instincts when I saw the videotape of Coach Rice's behavior was to fire him immediately. However, Rutgers decided to follow a process involving university lawyers, human resources professionals, and outside counsel. Following review of the independent investigative report, the consensus was that university policy would not justify dismissal. I have admitted my role in, and regret for, that decision, and wish that I had the opportunity to go back and override it for the sake of everyone involved.

I trust that my tenure at Rutgers will not be judged by this one incident. I am proud of my efforts to lead Rutgers into the Big Ten, and of all of the accomplishments of our student-athletes in the classroom and on the field of play. I want to thank our great fans, the hardest working staff in collegiate athletics, and every one of our fine student-athletes. It has been my great pleasure to serve my alma mater.

Sincerely,

Tim Pernetti
Class of 1993