Mom: Rodriguez family suffers threats, insults

Tools

West Virginia football coach Rich Rodriguez, new head coach of Michigan Wolverines

West Virginia football coach Rich Rodriguez speaks to the media during a morning press conference at Milan Puskar Stadium on Saturday morning, Dec. 15, 2007 in Morganton, W.Va. (AP Photo/The Dominion Post, Jason DeProspero)

By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Jan 8, 2008 at 4:09 PM EST

Story Updated: Jan 8, 2008 at 8:43 PM EST

GRANT TOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Relatives of Rich Rodriguez have been harassed and threatened in the three weeks since his resignation as West Virginia football coach.

His mother, Arleen Rodriguez, told the Charleston Daily Mail her teenage grandson received a death threat and found other harassing notes taped to his locker at East Fairmont High School. Arleen said her 12-year-old granddaughter had to be escorted to classes.

Mountaineer fans furious over Rodriguez's Dec. 16 decision to accept the coaching job at Michigan also vandalized his home near Morgantown, hanging signs on a fence and tossing a mailbox in the yard.

"He put seven years into WVU and now everybody thinks he's garbage," his mother said. "Think like a parent. That's all I can say. Think about it. Think about what you're doing."

The backlash has been even more venomous on the Facebook social networking site, where dozens of groups with profanity-laced names have formed, devoted to wishing ill for Rodriguez and his family.

A similar but short-lived fury boiled up last month against Mountaineer kicker Pat McAfee, who received angry text messages and had his car vandalized after missing two field goals in West Virginia's 13-9 loss to Pitt. The loss knocked WVU out of national championship contention, but the team went on without Rodriguez to beat Oklahoma at the Fiesta Bowl.

Several wealthy football boosters claim there was behind-the-scenes tension between Rodriguez and the WVU administration, but the coach has yet to publicly discuss the matter.

"I don't think he felt wanted at WVU anymore," his mother said.

More Good Stuff

WSBT Weather

Current Temp 53.8

More Weather

WSBT Weather

More Weather

On Demand

iPhone
Get the WSBT News and Irish Sports Report apps for your iPhone! Read more »
On DVD
Order a DVD of a WSBT news story! Read more »
Twitter
Follow us on Twitter! Read more »
Facebook
Connect with us on Facebook! Read more »
WSBT E-News
Daily StormTracker e-mails right to your Inbox! Read more »
Video On Demand
Miss a story on WSBT News? Watch it here! Read more »
CBS Shows
Watch CBS shows and news online, free! Read more »
WSBT Alert
Breaking News & Weather right to your cell phone! Read more »
Mobile
WSBT News on the go for your cell phone or PDA. Read more »
RSS Feeds
Get news and updates as soon as they're published. Read more »

Stock Quotes

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.