by Bill DiFilippo / @bflip33
Former Rutgers big man and current Pitt forward Derrick Randall is suing Rutgers for physical and verbal abuse he endured while playing under former Scarlet Knights head coach Mike Rice.
Randall, a junior, is suing several people, including Rice, former Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti and school president Robert Barchi. Rice and Pernetti were fired in the wake of the scandal, while Barchi is the school’s current president.
From CourthouseNewsService:
Assistant coach James Martelli resigned on April 3. He is a defendant.
Rutgers athletics director Timothy Pernetti resigned on April 4. He is a defendant.
Also sued are Rutgers CFO Janine Purcaro, and its Chairman of the Board Mark Hershhorn.
Randall left Rutgers after the scandal. He says the abuse caused him to lose “all confidence in himself and in his athletic abilities, which impacted his ability to perform both on and off the court.”
Randall claims Rice assaulted and battered him and that the other defendants “knew of this abusive conduct, yet stood by and allowed it to continue.”
In the wake of the scandal, Randall transferred to Pitt, where the NCAA granted him immediate eligibility. He is averaging 3.1 points and 4.8 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per game for the Panthers.
