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Mike Rice used gay slur while Robert Morris coach, former player says

The behavior by Rice displayed in the video at Rutgers seems to have started earlier in his career.

Al Bello

The video that surfaced of Mike Rice verbally and physically abusing players at Rutgers is not the first time he has displayed such behavior. A former player for Rice says that the coach used gay slurs and threw a basketball "once or twice" while at Robert Morris, according to the Associated Press.

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The unnamed player's accusations give credit to a former Rutgers staff member who said that Rice was a part of "coaches versus players" brawls while at Robert Morris from 2007-2010.

The Associated Press added that Robert Morris athletic director Craig Coleman said an internal investigation uncovered no evidence of those fights. The investigation did reveal that Rice directed homophobic slurs at a player and got into a shoving match with another player at halftime.

Rice was fired last week by Rutgers in wake of the video being featured on ESPN's Outside the Lines. Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti resigned shortly after Rice's firing.

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