Mike Rice Thrown Out for Sportsman-like Conduct
The coach of the Rutgers basketball team, Mike Rice was fired today for “a chronic and pervasive pattern of disturbing behavior”. The “disturbing behavior” was graphically revealed in a viral video that was picked up by ESPN. Rice is shown abusing team members physically and verbally during practices. He is shown kicking, pushing and violently throwing basketballs at players. He is also recorded berating them, principally with homophobic slurs and demeaning their manhood.
MEF producer, Byron Hurt (Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, Soul Food Junkies) spoke in response to the firing (Hurt is currently producing a film on hazing culture: Hazing: How Badly Do You Want In?):
I’ve been gauging some of the comments in defense of Rice and his firing on sports radio and television, and it appears that this hyper-masculine, aggressive coaching style is still widely interpreted by sports fans as harmless motivational tactics. This is socially accepted by far too many people in this country. Although many may not consider Rice’s behavior a form of hazing, I do.
Dave Zirin talks about the pathology of misogyny and homophobia in sports in this excerpt from Not Just a Game: