Cubs outfielder, Rutgers grad David DeJesus glad school fired coach Mike Rice
BY GORDON WITTENMYER gwittenmyer@suntimes.com April 3, 2013 4:26PM
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Updated: April 4, 2013 12:00AM
PITTSBURGH — Cubs outfielder David DeJesus has never met Mike Rice, but the former Rutgers baseball player is glad the school finally fired its basketball coach after DeJesus viewed the video showing the former coach abusing players during practice.
“It’s really crazy,” DeJesus said Wednesday, a few hours after Rutgers fired Rice. “I know I’ve heard about it, but then seeing those tapes, it’s kind of disturbing that the guy’s cursing at them and throwing balls at them. They made the right decision.”
DeJesus, who now lives in Wheaton, doesn’t get to his old campus much anymore, but he follows the football team as a “fair-weather fan” and follows his old baseball program online.
“When we’re winning, like last year, when we were going like 7-0, I threw a ‘W’ on Twitter once in a while,” he said.
Rice’s action definitely cuts against the grain of his school pride.
“They did their research,” he said. “I’m happy that they came to the right conclusion.”
Gordon Wittenmyer
