Last Wednesday, Rutgers University fired men's head basketball coach Mike Rice for abusive treatment of his players that was caught on video. Then on Friday, Tim Pernetti, Rutgers" athletic director, resigned. How do you think leaders, whether they are coaches, directors, instructors, bosses, teachers or any other authority figure, should motivate people? Where does pushing hard stop and abuse begin? In "Question Arises as Scandal Unfolds: Where's the Line?," Joe Drape and Nate Taylor write about the reaction from others in the sports community: Shock and revulsion to Rice's actions have reverberated through all levels of sports. LeBron James of the Miami Heat was among nearly a dozen N.B.A. players who took to Twitter to weigh in on the controversy. If my son played for Rutgers or a coach like that he would have some real explaining to do and I'm still gone whoop on him afterwards! C'mon," he wrote. One former coach, Dan Dakich, acknowledged that he would be uncomfortable if a tape of some of his motivational techniques ever emerged. He played four years at Indiana for Coach Bob Knight, who was fired in 2000 shortly after a tape appeared to show him putting his hands on a player's neck. Dakich, now a broadcaster, was an assistant to Knight for another 12 years. "I'd be a hypocrite if I came on here and said I haven't yelled and screamed at players; I did," he said on ESPN Radio on Wednesday. I was crazy and am sure if I looked back and heard what I said, I'd be disgusted with myself. ... Justin Haas, a former student manager at Robert Morris, where Rice previously coached, said the image of Rice in the montage of Rutgers practices was at odds with the coach he knew and admired. Haas said that Rice had a "fiery approach" to the game and that his practices were intense for a reason: to bring out the best in his players. Robert Morris's three conference championships and two N.C.A.A. tournament appearances were proof that his methods worked. "His style is nothing out of the ordinary across collegiate sports," Haas said. Any player, current or former, that played for Coach Rice and knows Coach Rice will have nothing but positive things to say because they understand his method. They became a better man and better player from their experience. Why didn't the Rutgers players who were targets of Rice's abuse strike back, or at least voice objections to his behavior? "Because it's far more common than you think, especially in the youth and A.A.U. ranks," said Matthew Davidson, president of the Institute for Excellence and Ethics, which conducts research and creates programming on the development of character and culture in sport. So they are conditioned to think that the coach controls everything. They get you into prep schools, help you get scholarships to college. Once you're there, if you want to transfer because he throws a ball at your head, he can tell another school that you have character issues. What, in your experience, works best when coaches motivate their players-being friendly, tough, scary or something else? Have you ever been treated disrespectfully by an authority figure who was trying to motivate you to perform well, whether in sports or any other competitive pursuit? What do you think of Mr. Davidson's assertion that players are "conditioned to think that the coach controls everything"? Do you think players who fear their coach's anger or ridicule have an edge over opponents who are not treated that way? Why or why not? Why do you think players would hesitate to report mistreatment by their coaches? If you were to be a coach or other type of teacher, how would you treat the people you were leading?