Steve Sweeney Wants Rutgers University’s Athletic Director Fired

The president of New Jersey's state Senate has joined the chorus of alumni and politicians calling for Rutgers University's athletic director to be ousted for not firing the men's basketball coach sooner.

Athletic Director Tim Pernetti fired coach Mike Rice this week after a video showing the coach kicking and shoving players and berating them with a gay slur became public.

State Senate President Stephen Sweeney said in a statement Thursday that the case will "hang over Rutgers like a dark cloud for weeks, months and perhaps years to come."

He says he's especially troubled that Rice is in line to get a $100,000 bonus for coaching through the recently finished season.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)