Mike Rice - Rutgers University's Disgrace and Shame

As much shame and disgrace deserve to be heaped upon former Rutgers University Basketball Coach Mike Rice, it goes double for the once-esteemed and presitigous institution which continued to employ him after it learned of the appalling manner in which he meted out physical and emotional abuse upon the impressionable young men that were his players. Rice pocketed a tidy $655,000 in compensation last year and remained employed after his actions came to light because character counts for little in today's world, particularly in the realm of sports.  This is an era in which those that commit repugnant acts decline to acknowledge that they possess fatal flaws in their makeup and a lack of character, rather every aberrant behavior is a mere "mistake". (Bobby Knight and Michael Vick are others that come to mind as prominent representatives of this category of defective individuals, yet they remain revered by many.)  Rice, caught by reporters outside his home and compelled to comment on his status and conduct, acknowledged that he was "wrong".  He did not say that he is a failed human being. Those upon whom Mike Rice took out his rage, like others that are treated like trash by authority figures, are faced with loss of self-esteem after being "motivated" to perform through the damaging actions of a thug. Our society needs to take a long, hard look at our priorities, where we stand, and where we are going.  The current state does not bode well for the future.   When college sports programs are deemed to be the most important facet of a student's "education", when a coach is one of the hgihest paid individuals at a university and highly sought after, I would suggest that our priorities are cockeyed.