Everyone who's played sports competitively at some point has that one coach (or four) that's pushed athletes vigorously enough to make them cry.
It's one thing for strict coaches to beat drills, instruction and suicide-like workouts into players. It's another thing to literally beat them.
Footage of former Rutgers men's basketball coach Mike Rice Jr. that surfaced last week showed him kicking, shoving and launching balls at players. The video sparked national outrage and led to Rice's dismissal from the team.
Unfortunately, he's probably not the only coach on any level that's been getting away with this.
It's a sad consequence what the "suck it up, rub some dirt on it" mentality toward sports has created. That culture has distorted the line between exercising discipline and bullying.
Players often don't know how to tell the difference between a good, tough coaching tactic and a criminal offense.
If this happened in any other profession, coaches like Rice would easily be thrown in jail and would certainly be banned from working the same position again.
I'm against a lot of aspects in sports being exaggerated and softened to be "safer," but this is an issue I hope the Rice scandal could shed light upon.
Coaches are teachers, not bullies.
Reach the columnist at jnacion@asu.edu
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