As Rutgers University athletic director Tim Pernetti resigned Friday amid the scandal over men's basketball coach Mike Rice's unorthodox practices, he blamed the school administration for following a process that served to keep Rice on the payroll.
But Rutgers laid part of the blame on the law firm that allegedly balked at recommending Rice's termination: Connell Foley of Roseland.
"We pay dearly for good advice, and I'm not sure we got good advice," Board of Governors Chairman Ralph Izzo said at a news conference on Friday.
University officials said the decision last November to suspend rather than fire Rice was based at least partially on advice from the firm, which was retained to investigate videotaped incidents of Rice shoving and berating players, heaving basketballs at them and calling them "faggots."
The firm concluded that Rice's conduct did not create a hostile environment, though he might have breached provisions in his contract against embarrassing the school.
The firm also was charged with looking into claims by Eric Murdock, the former director of player development who released the videotape to ESPN, that he was wrongfully terminated for raising Rice's conduct.
Last July, Murdock's attorney, Barry Kozyra, wrote to university officials about his client's claim.
Kozyra, of Kozyra and Hartz in Roseland, later received from Rutgers ? through a request under the Open Public Records Act ? DVD footage of every basketball practice for the 2010, 2011 and 2012 seasons.
The footage was used to compile a 30-minute collection of clips depicting Rice shoving players, throwing basketballs at them and using epithets.
On Nov. 26, Kozyra showed the tape to Pernetti and others.
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