Report: Tim Pernetti Is Out as Rutgers Athletic Director in Wake of Mike Rice Videotapes

The fallout continues from the Rutgers situation with Mike Rice, who was already terminated earlier this week. According to Tara Sullivan of The Record, Tim Pernetti is also done at Rutgers, and the issue is whether it will be a resignation or a termination. (According to CBS, he has been fired)

I talked about potential issues with Pernetti’s handling of the matter (beyond the decision to suspend for three games vs. terminate Rice immediately based on the tapes), including the timeline of when he first received notice and how thorough the investigation might have been last summer. Former players came out in defense of Pernetti, and there was some thought that he might survive based on his role in bringing Rutgers into the Big Ten Conference.

In the end, public relations issues and money issues (whether the $100,000 that has to be paid to Rice because he finished the season, or the potential lawsuit from whistleblower Eric Murdock) proved fatal.