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Report: FBI investigating former Rutgers assistant Eric Murdock

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating whether former Rutgers assistant Eric Murdock tried to extort money from the university, reports the New York Times.

Murdock, whose practice videos led to the firing of Rutgers head coach Mike Rice and the resignation of athletic director Tim Pernetti, wrote a letter to the school demanding $950,000 in December, according to the paper.

Murdock filed a wrongful-termination lawsuit against the school on Friday, claiming that he was fired for being a whistle-blower.

From the New York Times:

In December, a lawyer representing the former assistant, Eric Murdock, a retired N.B.A. player, sent a letter to the university demanding $950,000, according to a copy of the letter. The letter — which was first reported by ESPN on Friday — was sent two weeks after Rice was suspended for three games for the abusive behavior that eventually led to his firing Wednesday. The university declined to pay the money demanded in the letter, and Murdock eventually publicized video footage that showed Rice kicking his players, throwing basketballs at them and taunting them with homophobic slurs. The footage has touched off a scandal that has led to the resignations or dismissals of at least four Rutgers officials.