Carmine Ralph Cicurillo questions Rutgers University President Robert Barchi over the expenses of athletic programs as Barchi addresses a town hall meeting Monday, April 8, 2013, in Newark, N.J., Barchi announced Monday that Rutgers officials are reviewing practice videos of all sports to see if any coach engaged in behavior like the type that cost men's basketball coach Mike Rice his job, and the university is planning to hire a consultant to do an independent review of how the university hired Rice. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Carmine Ralph Cicurillo questions Rutgers University President Robert Barchi over the expenses of athletic programs as Barchi addresses a town hall meeting Monday, April 8, 2013, in Newark, N.J., Barchi announced Monday that Rutgers officials are reviewing practice videos of all sports to see if any coach engaged in behavior like the type that cost men's basketball coach Mike Rice his job, and the university is planning to hire a consultant to do an independent review of how the university hired Rice. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Rutgers University President Robert Barchi addresses a town hall meeting Monday, April 8, 2013, in Newark, N.J., Barchi announced Monday that Rutgers officials are reviewing practice videos of all sports to see if any coach engaged in behavior like the type that cost men's basketball coach Mike Rice his job, and the university is planning to hire a consultant to do an independent review of how the university hired Rice. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Rutgers University professor Beryl Satter, Ph.D., interrupts president Robert Barchi as he addresses a town hall meeting Monday, April 8, 2013, in Newark, N.J. Barchi announced Monday that Rutgers officials are reviewing practice videos of all sports to see if any coach engaged in behavior like the type that cost men's basketball coach Mike Rice his job, and the university is planning to hire a consultant to do an independent review of how the university hired Rice.(AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Rutgers University professor Beryl Satter, left, Ph.D., is applauded as she interrupts president Robert Barchi as he addresses a strategic planning gathering Monday, April 8, 2013, in Newark, N.J. Barchi announced Monday that Rutgers officials are reviewing practice videos of all sports to see if any coach engaged in behavior like the type that cost men's basketball coach Mike Rice his job, and the university is planning to hire a consultant to do an independent review of how the university hired Rice.(AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Rutgers University President Robert Barchi addresses a town hall meeting Monday, April 8, 2013, in Newark, N.J. Barchi announced Monday that Rutgers officials are reviewing practice videos of all sports to see if any coach engaged in behavior like the type that cost men's basketball coach Mike Rice his job, and the university is planning to hire a consultant to do an independent review of how the university hired Rice.(AP Photo/Mel Evans)
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) ? A member of the Rutgers University Board of Governors says he called for ex-basketball coach Mike Rice to be fired in December.
Board member Mark Hershorn says in a statement that he was shown a video of Rice kicking and shoving players and using gay slurs as he yelled at them on Dec. 4, soon after the university was given the video by a former employee.
He says former athletic director Tim Pernetti showed him the video. Hershorn says he told Pernetti that if the video was authentic, Rice needed to go.
Later that month, Rice was suspended. It was only when the video was made public last week that Rice was fired.
Pernetti has since resigned. He has said his "first instinct" was also to fire Rice.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Rutgers officials are scrutinizing practice videos of all sports to see if any coach engaged in behavior like the type that cost men's basketball coach Mike Rice his job, the university president announced Monday. The inquiry into Rice and how university officials responded is also going deeper as the school announced that it plans to hire a consultant to conduct an independent review.
University President Robert Barchi, speaking Monday during a town hall meeting on the school's Newark campus, said that he wants any instances of bullying or homophobic language to be reported immediately.
He also reiterated that he wished he had viewed the video where Rice ? whom Gov. Chris Christie on Monday called an "animal" ? shoved players and called them gay slurs when it first surfaced in November, saying he would have fired Rice then.
Rice was fired last week only after the video became public. Athletic Director Tim Pernetti, an assistant basketball coach and the university's top lawyer also resigned last week, while some Rutgers faculty members and others called for Barchi to step down, too.
Meanwhile, Christie on Monday defended Barchi's performance while blasting Rice's behavior. He also criticized the reaction of those who knew about it and did not fire the coach months ago, when the video was given to university officials and viewed by ? at least ? Athletic Director Tim Pernetti, university interim counsel John Wolf and Mark Hershhorn, the chairman of the university Board of Governors' athletics committee.
"They were wrong not to come to the conclusion that Coach Rice needed to be fired immediately," Christie said at a news conference.
Hershorn's lawyer, Jennifer Joseph, said the governor is wrong about Hershorn. Hershorn immediately called for Rice to be fired after he saw the video in December, she said, declining to say where he made the recommendation.
While the governor had issued statements previously, it was the first time Christie took questions about the scandal at the state's flagship public university. The Republican governor added that had he been aware of the issues earlier he would have used his "power of persuasion" to try to get Rice fired then.
He said he viewed the video not only as a governor but as the father of a college athlete. His son Andrew plays baseball at Princeton.
"You're talking about kids being miserably treated by the guy who determined whether they keep their scholarship or not," Christie said. He said the video cost the coach his credibility with young athletes and their families.
"What parent would let this animal back into their living room to try to recruit their son after this video?" he said.
Christie said it was a mistake for Barchi, who took office in September, not to watch the video last year when he first was told about it. But he said leaders of large organizations must delegate some matters and that the mistake was not a firing offense.
It was Pernetti's job to know what the coach was doing, Christie said. According to a settlement the university provided to The Associated Press on Monday, Pernetti is receiving $1.25 million as he departs, along with perks ranging from health insurance for more than two years to a $12,000 annual car allowance until next year and his university-issued iPad.
Rutgers announced Monday that it was commissioning an independent review of Rice's conduct and the way the university responded to it. The board of governors will meet Thursday to discuss that.
Also Monday, board chairman Ralph Izzo said that one board member ? Hershhorn ? had seen the video in December and that it was not shown to other members. The topic of the coach's conduct was discussed at a committee meeting in December, but it was not discussed at the whole-board meeting that month.
Joseph, Hershorn's lawyer, said he voiced his concerns about what he believed was "abusive and demeaning" behavior "quickly, responsibly and diligently."
Before hearing Hershorn's account, state Senate President Stephen Sweeney called on the board member to resign. "Any trustee or member of the board of governors who witnessed the tape at any point before it was publicly aired, and took no action, should be removed or resign immediately," he said in a statement.
The scandal has prompted the FBI to investigate whether a former Rutgers basketball employee asked for money from Rutgers in exchange for not taking the videos public, a person familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Asked about the FBI inquiry on Monday, Barchi said the agency wasn't called but came "on their own."
As the investigations mount, Christie said he did not believe that state lawmakers should have an inquiry of their own, saying Rutgers is investigating and that holding hearings would "continue reputational damage" to the school.
Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, who has called for hearings said "the taxpayers, students, faculty, administrators, parents, alumni and other constituents" deserve to know what happened.
Meanwhile, Rutgers is turning to former dean Carl Kirschner to run its athletic department on an interim basis while it conducts a search for someone to take the job permanently.
It's the second time that Kirschner will run the program. He took over at the start of 2009 after Robert Mulcahy was fired, and held the role for four months, stepping down when Pernetti took over.
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Zezima reported from Newark. Associated Press writers Geoff Mulvihill, Tim Sullivan and Tom Canavan also contributed to this report.
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