Looks like Rutgers’ former athletic director Tim Pernetti, who resigned last week following the firing of men’s basketball coach Mike Rice, is getting a pretty sweet settlement package from the university: $1.2 million in salary, a car allowance, health insurance for two years, and an iPad.
The Associated Press snagged the details of the settlement in a public records request to the university, so we’ll let them explain in more detail what he’s getting:
Under his agreement, Pernetti is to be paid his base salary of $453,000 per year through June 2014 and a one-time payment of $679,500 in the next month. He gets the money even if he takes another job. He also gets his $12,000 per year car allowance through June 2014 and health insurance and pension payments through October 2015. Pernetti also gets to keep his Rutgers-issued iPad and laptop computer. Rutgers agreed to represent Pernetti in any lawsuits related to his job as athletic director. The university agreed not to say anything bad about Pernetti to the media or prospective employers, and Pernetti agreed not to disparage the school publicly, though he is allowed to speak truthfully about the Rice situation. He also agreed to cooperate in any investigations by the school, NCAA or legal authorities.
Pernetti faced increasing scrutiny after Rice’s firing because many believed he didn’t respond strongly enough at first to the coach’s behavior. He initially tried to keep Rice on staff, with just a three-game suspension and a fine of $50,000, after seeing damning footage of Rice abusing players. But Pernetti changed his mind, apparently, after the footage went public, as we explained when Rice was fired last week.
Elsewhere in Slate: For more on Rice’s firing and the Rutgers abuse video, check out Emily Bazelon’s piece on how the coach’s behavior illustrates the line between jerkiness and abuse.
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