The new Rutgers University athletic director, a woman brought on to give the school a fresh start after the Tim Rice coaching controversy, seems to be shrouded by her own scandal of sorts, according to the New Jersey Star Ledger.
Sixteen years ago, Julie Hermann quit her job as the University of Tennessee women’s volleyball head coach, after her players wrote a letter depicting her less than encouraging coaching style. The letter described the coach as one who created an atmosphere of fear, humiliation and emotional abuse. In the letter, the players said Hermann called them “whores, alcoholics and learning disabled.”
For her part, Hermann told the NJ Star Ledger she did not recall such a letter being read. She even claimed that she stayed in touch with several of her former players throughout the years.
“I never heard any of this, never name-calling them or anything like that whatsoever,” she told the newspaper. “None of this is familiar to me.”
Hermann has spent the past 16 years as assistant to the athletic director at Louisville. She will be receive a salary of $450,000 a year in her new role and is expected to begin on June 17.
Hermann is the first female athletic directer at Rutgers and was hired to clean up the mess left by former basketball coach Mike Rice, who was fired after he was filmed yelling gay slurs and throwing basketballs at his players. The former AD, Tim Pernetti, resigned after the scandal made national headlines.
Rutgers also made national headlines after their lacrosse coach was suspended for verbally abusing his players as well.
