Alumni Starts Petition to Reinstate Tim Pernetti as AD of Rutgers University [AUDIO]

Rutgers Alumni Andy Sisti has started a petition to reinstate Tim Pernetti as Athletic Director at Rutgers University after Pernetti stepped down in the wake of the Mike Rice scandal.

Andy Sisti has forwarded us the letter that was sent to Rutgers University alumni and supporters to request that they sign the petition. You can read the letter below.

Dear Students, Alumni and Supporters:

 

The recent handling of Athletic Director Tim Pernetti’s resignation is unjust and a disgrace to Rutgers University. I am writing in order to rally support and concentrate efforts to reinstate Tim Pernetti as Athletic Director. I do not wish to see anybody else removed from their job nor am I looking for donations to be withheld or any other threats to the University. Instead of trying to fix this injustice through further destructive efforts I hope to demonstrate the widespread support for Tim to Governor Christie, Dr. Barchi, Dr. Izzo and the Board of Trustees and Dudley Rivers and the Board of Governors.

Tim was confronted with the unfortunate situation involving Coach Rice and took the prudent approach and consulted President Barchi and the university’s counsel. He followed the protocol given to him by the president. When the situation was leaked to the media and the administration became skittish about how it was being perceived it was Tim who was made the scapegoat and let go because of the counsel of school officials.

Tim is the face of Rutgers athletics. He guided us to the Big Ten through his skill and diplomacy. He is one of our own which is evident in his passion for Rutgers. He was tasked with a difficult situation that involved making sure the well-being of student athletes was protected, the administration’s orders were followed and Coach Rice was handled in a way that did not expose Rutgers to further liability. Considering all those things and at the advice of counsel and the administration, Tim attempted to rehabilitate Coach Rice. Despite facing a near impossible situation he committed himself to resolve the issue and demonstrated he is a true leader.

I have been an ardent supporter of Rutgers’ athletics throughout the years and under Tim Pernetti’s direction it has been a great athletic program. A good athletic program is one that wins games and produces competitive athletes. A great athletic program does that but so much more. By fostering school spirit and positive relationships between student-athletes and coaches it teaches loyalty. By promoting sportsmanlike conduct and honesty on and off the field it teaches integrity. Making Tim Pernetti the fall guy in order to appease political players flouts these qualities. While it is fun to support a good athletic program for a game, faithful fans stick around season after season to support a great athletic program. I am hoping that the administration will realize the error in their ways and give me a

reason to stick around. I want to support a program that doesn’t just win games but also teaches its athletes to be honorable.

The administration made a mistake in pressuring Tim to resign. However, they need not persist in this mistake but can demonstrate integrity and wisdom by rectifying the mistake and reinstating him. This is a sign of strength which would serve to unify our university community and build trust for the administration. It was only this past year at the University of Virginia that the higher education community witnessed the reinstatement of President Theresa Sullivan after the Board of Visitors accepted responsibility for a hasty decision and responded to the student, faculty and alumni’s groundswell of support for the president.

If you support the reinstatement of Tim Pernetti please let your voice be heard. Email Gov. Christie (constituent.relations@gov.state.nj.us); the Board of Governors (secretary@oldqueens.rutgers.edu attn: Dr. Izzo and the Board of Governors); the Board of Trustees (secretary@oldqueens.rutgers.edu attn: Dudley Rivers and the Board of Trustees); Dr. Barchi (Robert.barchi@oldqueens.Rutgers.edu). Be sure to copy SaveTimPernetti@gmail.com so that I can print these emails for the President and Governor’s offices.

We are hoping that after flooding these offices and the media with our support for Tim it will culminate in a rally prior to the spring football game on April 27th. Let’s show Tim and the Rutgers administration that we want a great program, not just a good program, by having 30,000 Rutgers supporters gathered in a responsible manner.

Sincerely,

Andy Sisti
RC ‘76 andysisti@gmail.com

twitter @andysisti 
Follow details of rally on Facebook - I SUPPORT TIM PERNETTI

Andy called Jim this morning to discuss the petition and his reasoning behind trying to get Tim Pernetti reinstated. You can listen to Sisti's call in the audio player below.