FILE - In this Jan. 17, 2013 file photo, Rutgers head coach Mike Rice reacts to play during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against South Florida in Piscataway, N.J. Rutgers has fired Rice after a videotape aired showing him shoving, grabbing and throwing balls at players in practice and using gay slurs during practice. With mounting criticism on a state and national level, the school decided to take action on Wednesday, April 3, 2013. relieving Rice of his duties after three largely unsuccessful seasons at the Big East school. AP Photo/Mel Evan, File FILE - In this Jan. 2, 2013 file photo, Rutgers head coach Mike Rice reacts after Syracuse scored late in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Syracuse, N.Y. Rutgers has fired Rice after a videotape aired showing him shoving, grabbing and throwing balls at players in practice and using gay slurs during practice. AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli, File FILE - In this May 6, 2010 file photo, Mike Rice, left, former coach of Robert Morris, is introduced as the new men's basketball coach of Rutgers by athletic director Tim Pernetti, during a news conference at Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J. Rutgers has fired Rice after a videotape aired showing him shoving, grabbing and throwing balls at players in practice and using gay slurs during practice. PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) - Once the video went viral, Mike Rice's coaching days at Rutgers were over. Now the question is whether anyone else will lose their jobs - including the athletic director who in December suspended and fined Rice for the abusive behavior, and the university president who signed off on it. Rice was fired Wednesday, one day after a video surfaced of him hitting, shoving and berating his players with anti-gay slurs. The taunts were especially troubling behavior at Rutgers, where freshman student Tyler Clementi killed himself in 2010 after his roommate used a webcam to spy on him kissing another man in his dorm. It also came at an especially embarrassing time for the NCAA, with the country focused on the Final Four basketball tournament this weekend. Rice, in his third season with the Scarlet Knights, apologized outside his home in Little Silver, N.J. "I've let so many people down: my players, my administration, Rutgers University, the fans, my family, who's sitting in their house just huddled around because of the fact their father was an embarrassment to them," he said. I want to tell everybody who's believed in me that I'm deeply sorry for the pain and hardship that I've caused. Athletic Director Tim Pernetti was given a copy of the tape by a former employee in November and, after an independent investigator was hired to review it, Rice was suspended for three games, fined $75,000 and ordered to attend anger management classes. University President Robert Barchi agreed to the penalty. Pernetti initially said Tuesday he and Barchi viewed the video in December. The president issued a statement Wednesday, saying he didn't see it until Tuesday and then moved to fire the 44-year-old coach for repeated abusive conduct. Through a school spokesman, Pernetti backed up his president and said Barchi did not view the video until this week. The video shows numerous clips of Rice at practice during his three years at the school firing basketballs at players, hitting them in the back, legs, feet and shoulders. Several college coaches said they had never seen anything like the Rutgers video and it broke a cardinal rule: Never put your hands on a player. UConn women's coach Geno Auriemma, winner of seven national titles, said "there is no line that could be drawn that would make that behavior acceptable." The most famous case of a coach accused of abusing a player is the one involving Bob Knight of Indiana. The university put him on a zero-tolerance policy in 2000 after an investigation into a former player's allegations that the coach had choked him during a practice. The Rice video drew outrage on campus and all the way to the capital in Trenton, with lawmakers and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie supporting the firing at the state's flagship public university. "This was a regrettable episode for the university, but I completely support the decision to remove Coach Rice," Christie said in a statement. Clementi's family applauded the firing in a statement issued by the foundation named after their son. "All students require safe environments to learn and reach their full potential, and Coach Rice's conduct has no place on a campus that is devoted to learning and fostering a sense of community," it said. We know Rutgers is such a place, and, like all colleges and universities, it must not tolerate that kind of behavior. State lawmakers want explanations from both Pernetti and Barchi on the initial decision not to fire Rice. The firing means Rutgers has now seen its last four coaches dismissed for poor decisions and controversy, rather than simply wins and losses. Pernetti, who has a year left on his contract, said his decision to only suspend Rice was made in part because the coach was remorseful. The videotape was given to Pernetti by former director of player development, Eric Murdock, who was hired by Rice in 2010. The two had a falling out over Murdock's appearances at a camp, and Pernetti said Murdock's contract was not renewed for last season. A woman who answered the phone at Murdock's home told the AP he was out. His cell phone did not answer. Murdock, who said he was fired, compiled the video after losing his job. AP Basketball Writers Jim O'Connell and Rachel Cohen in New York contributed to this report.