Rutgers University announced Monday it will commission an independent investigation of the men's basketball program and the university's handling of a complaint that the coach mistreated players. An airing of video showing coach Mike Rice kicking and shoving players and making gay slurs during practices led last week to the coach's firing and the resignations of the athletic director, the university's top in-house lawyer and an assistant basketball coach.
An at-a-glance look at the latest developments:
___
NEW INVESTIGATION
President Robert Barchi announces he will meet Thursday with the board of governors to discuss naming an independent adviser to investigate the basketball scandal, including the school's decision to discipline Rice, rather than fire him, when first shown video evidence in November. The video was provided by a former basketball program employee who is accusing Rutgers in a federal lawsuit of retaliating against him for complaining about Rice's conduct.
___
ALL SPORTS UNDER MISCROSCOPE
Rutgers announces it will review practice videos from all sports to see if any other coach engaged in abusive behavior.
___
GOVERNOR CALLS COACH AN "ANIMAL"
Gov. Chris Christie, back from vacation, discusses the scandal publicly for the first time — using his strongest language yet to describe the coach's conduct. He said he was speaking both as governor and as the father of a son who plays Division I baseball at Princeton.
"What parent would let this animal back into their living room to try to recruit their son after this video?" he said. "You're talking about kids being miserably treated by the guy who determined whether they keep their scholarship or not."
__
CHRISTIE BACKS RUTGERS PRESIDENT
Christie says Barchi made a mistake not asking to view the video himself in November, but leaders need to delegate and the mistake was not a firing offense.
He says anyone who saw the tape in November should have concluded Rice needed to be fired.
He also reveals he called Athletic Director Tim Pernetti on April 2, when ESPN first aired the video, and told him he needed to get rid of Rice. Rice was fired the next day.
____
INTERIM ATHLETIC DIRECTOR
Former Rutgers dean Carl Kirschner is becoming interim athletic director, a person with knowledge of the decision tells The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the appointment had not been announced by the university. Kirschner also ran the program for four months in 2009 after then-athletic director Robert Mulcahy was fired.
______
MILLION-DOLLAR PAYOUTS
Newly released documents show athletic director Tim Pernetti is getting $1.2 million in salary, a $12,000-a-year car allowance through 2014, and health insurance and pension payments through October 2015. He also gets to keep his university-issued laptop computer and iPad.
Rice is getting $1 million, or 75 percent of the salary remaining on his contract, plus a $100,000 bonus for completing the last season.
____
BOARD MEMBER SAW VIDEO
The board of governors reports its athletics committee chairman, Mark P. Hershorn, watched the video in early December, the month the university announced Rice would be suspended without pay for three games and fined $50,000 for inappropriate conduct.
State Sen. President Steve Sweeney says any board member who viewed the tape before it was publicly aired, "and took no action," should be removed or resign. "The standard for them, or anyone in a position of authority at Rutgers," he says, "should be no different than for Mike Rice or Tim Pernetti."
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.