Rutgers suspends men's lacrosse coach, citing investigation of verbal abuse

Rutgers University suspended their men's lacrosse coach Brian Brecht with pay Friday, pending the completion of an investigation of verbal abuse by the campus police department, the school announced.

Brecht is in his second season with the Scarlet Knights, and came to the school after leading Siena to 57 victories over the previous five seasons. The school did not give details of allegations.

This is the university's second instance in dealing with a coach accused of abuse. A videotape showing men's basketball coach Mike Rice verbally and physically abusing players led to his firing on April 3 and the resignation of athletic director Tim Pernetti. Rutgers has been reviewing videos of practices in all sports since that incident.

From a Rutgers release:

“While I cannot comment on an ongoing investigation, let me reiterate that there is no place at Rutgers for words or actions that are inconsistent with the values of the university. Our student athletes, as all members of the Rutgers community, should know that our university is committed to promoting an atmosphere of respect and dignity,“ said Robert L. Barchi, Rutgers University president. “As I stressed earlier, we will be looking closely at all intercollegiate athletics at Rutgers going forward. If we find problems, we will address them.”