Why not? I mean, they're different (for example I doubt you can wear mesh shorts to work), but what is the meaningful difference here? As D26 suggested, that coach holds the player's livelihoods in his hands. He controls their ability to get a high-quality college education and play basketball. their scholarship can be gone in a second, and it'll be hard to latch on elsewhere once they're been labeled a trouble maker. So their options are often shut up and accept physical abuse, or get fucked over. There's a reason these sorts of accusations tend to come from former players.
Well this basically what Nom first stated in this thread. If you took all their worst moments and put it in a 2 minute clip and released it on ESPN, it'd be a bloodbath. This article is pretty fucking great. It's basically saying "If you took all your worst moments from work, condensed them into a two minute clip and were judged solely on them, it'd fucking suck. It's not fair." I agree.
Even if that video represented every single tirade Rice went on in practice, Rutgers had no choice but to fire him. The damage was done - Rice would have had no further credibility in a recruit's living room where he has to convince parents to let him be a father figure. Say what you will about losing your scholarship, I am shocked that not one of his players tried to take a swing at him. Yanking a kid by the jersey is okay in my book (I've seen JV high school football coaches do this regularly), as is "motherfucker" "sonuvabitch" and even "pussy". Throwing basketballs at someone's head, kicking a player, "cunt", "faggot" - now you're just being a dickhead. Being a snake-bitten leader is fine. You might have a reputation for being a hardass, but you can still win games and be looked upon favorably by those around you. Players go to war for Bob Knight, Bob Huggins, and Pat Summit. In my opinion, all of the following is fair game: And my favorite:
It occurs to me that there are relatively few situations where it's cool to hit somebody who isn't allowed to hit you back. Also that the problem isn't that Rice got fired even though all the coaches are doing it, it's that holy fuck all the coaches are doing it. I bet it's much worse at the elite high school and college levels than at regular high schools or in the pros. ETA: There are also a ton of ways you can make an asshole player's life miserable without resorting to this. Don't get back on defense? Sprints. Don't take shooting drills seriously? Guess who isn't having any plays run for him. Don't bust your ass in practice? Don't worry, I know you're tired, you can have plenty of rest during games. I even have a seat right here for you. If you can't motivate players without being this much of an asshole, maybe "coach" isn't quite the right job for you.
I can think of a lot of great chewings out and yellings at that I've seen. The best one actually featured no yelling at all; it was just a GI attending letting a junior resident hang himself on a noose he already tied. But you know what the point of all of those was? The point was to yell at someone and stress them out to test them and see if they'd crack. The best actual leadership that I've seen, though? Never yelling, never insulting, never demeaning, and sure as hell never losing your temper. But then again, what do I know, I've never done as anything as crucial, important or life-and-death as... um... playing college level sports.
It is damage control city out there, I have no doubt. Men act like insane, abusive criminals in ANY place where you take women away. It makes them nuts.
I think those two lines there are the crux of the issue. He should absolutely be fired. He should be fired for being an asshole who hits/shoves/throws things at people he is in a position of authority over, and he should be fired for being a shitty coach.
I recall seeing a softball coach kick a glove across the infield while yelling, FUCK!" because his team lost in the tournament finale. The girls 10-13 league tournament finale. Sports doesn't build character, it reveals it.
I'm surprise parents don't take out vigilante justice for this shit more often. People like coaches are supposed to encourage and better young minds, not hold you in a living catch-22 with the authority and act like a raging psychopath the entire time. Coaches for college teams don't have any sort of tenure in the States, do they? If I was a parent of these kids, I would be seriously contemplating sticking a golf umbrella up his ass and opening it. In a day and age when bullying is (finally) being addressed universally, we see this shit still going on. He's a fucking angry assbag. There's a little more in this video: I love how he says in his statement how he "let the players, coaches and fans down". He forgot to add "...because I got caught".
Alt. Focus: Ever been on the receiving end of an overzealous coach's wrath? Yup. My own father. The one instance that still stands out to this day is whenever I dropped a pass in 4th or 5th grade. My dad was so enraged that he got the ball and started throwing it like a baseball at me from the distance of about ten feet while he yelled at me. I'm not sure if there were any obscenities. I actually wasn't sure if this really happened or was something I sort of made up until a buddy of mine recounted it. Also, I got to watch Texas Tech practice back in '03 or '04. Bobby Knight was a scary motherfucker. He was pacing the sidelines yelling and slamming a half-flat basketball on the ground every ten seconds. I was in the bleachers and I was still scared.
Jesus titty fucking christ... I got yelled at and told I was awful on an almost daily basis in residency. Surgical attendings and Anesthesia attendings both beat off to that shit in the break room. I've seen a Neurosurgeon tell his resident to shut his fucking mouth sit in the corner and not say a word.... all while finishing a case that would take another 3 hours. I've also seen said attending make his resident burst into tears running out of the room. Granted when I have med students or other lower level residents I have more patience than I experienced going through the same stages. I figure if I hated every second of my life through that I shouldn't force someone else to live it either.
Well maybe if these players didn't make him do these things, if they played right and showed the proper respect for his hard work, they wouldn't force him to act like this. Maybe he'll tearfully apologize to the players at breakfast the next morning. I always wanted Ike Turner as a coach...
Huge difference where a screw up in one situation can lead to death and one in the other can lead to an easy lay up.
This one time in high school one of my coaches kicked a player out of practice because he wasn't working hard enough. That player was his son, which I guess proved that he didn't play favorites -- unfortunately, he was also the kid's only ride back home. So the player went out, got a hot meatball sub, and ate it in the stands while we ran sprints. I am not sure whether the gesture (or this story) had any effect, much less the intended one.
Adverse risks are approximately 1:250,000 to 1:300,000 in anesthesia. Being a dick is still called being a dick no matter how you decide to excuse it.
Once in my life on any team have I seen a coach play favourites if his/her kid(s) was on the team. It has never been a common occurance around these parts, at least from my life experience. If my dad was my hockey coach (was a few times), I got worked. Coach Carter-esque shit. However, on one of my little league baseball teams (the league was actually called "Eager Beaver Baseball") the coaches were a husband-wife team, and my GOD did they play favourites with precious little Wes. He was one of those whiney, high-voiced little shits that threw out-loud tantrums in front of his team when things didn't go his way. I know you've met this kid, becauser he travels around the country. Despite the fact he sucked-- striking out every second at bat and threw pumpkin lobs when he pitched, he was first selected for the all-star game and the STARTER for our team. One time another kid yelled back at their bitch of a son, they benched him for the next game, despite the fact his parents PAID MONEY for their kid to play in the league. So, in honour of the punished player myself and a couple other kids decided to bench ourselves as well alongside him and showed up in our street clothes. The minute our parents were distracted, that ugly fat freckled-festooned cunt started grating us, saying we had "no right to let the team down" even though there were plenty of players. "You don't see Wes (he son) acting this way!" it was so awesome later that year when she got hit in the spine by a line drive while she was flapping her gums. Of course, back fat supports some impact. Unreal. Even though 90% of the parents and players signed a petition to have them removed, they refused to step down. Everybody was wrong except them in their world. White trash absolutely, POSTIVELY refuses to accept any flaw they have whatsoever. It's white-knuckling. Steady fast food diets and gunt shorts? What's the problem here?
I didn't know that dragging players around by their uniforms was frowned upon. When I played football, that was pretty much how we knew we were in the right spot.