Immaculata Prof on Rutgers Coach: Tantrums Aren't Training

"Some suggest there is a fine line between motivating and bullying, demonstrating leadership and throwing a tantrum. I disagree."

Those are the words of Immaculata University English professor John Church Jr., a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve.

In an op-ed piece published Monday on Philly.com, Church contrasts intense military training with the behavior for which Rutgers University basketball coach Mike Rice was recently fired. Rice was seen on video physically assaulting players and screaming homophobic language at them.

The missing element in Rice's situation, Church says, is respect:  

Have I experienced harsh treatment in military training? Of course. That was the point. It was designed to be harsh because the hands of the enemy would prove to be more unyielding than any tirade offered by a trainer. In fact, my Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape training was unbelievably harsh. And I remain ever grateful it was. (Of course, during training, grateful was not the word I would have used to describe what I was feeling as the senior ranking officer in my class - lucky me.) [...]

When I was enlisted, I served at the Marines' Officer Candidates School in Quantico, Va., and when I was a junior officer, I served at the Recruit Training Regiment at the famed Parris Island. In both places, I came away knowing that screaming, ranting, raving, and harshness all have their place in military training. Lack of respect does not.

Read the full article: Clear line between leading and bullying