Controversy seems to always be swirling around Rutgers University these days.
This week’s most pressing imbroglio is about Rutgers new Athletic Director, Julie Hermann. She has been introduced to the media but is scheduled to begin work on Monday, June 17, 2013.
It’s alleged that while she was a volleyball coach at the University of Tennessee she was abusive to players and staff, New Jersey’s Star Ledger reported. It’s also surfaced that she was involved in a sex discrimination lawsuit while at the University of Louisville.
After the fall out surrounding former Scarlet Knights Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Rice and former Athletic Director Tim Pernetti; this is not what Rutgers President Robert Barchi had in mind. As reported, she was the best candidate out of the 63 that were considered. Adding further insult to injury, he hired Eddie Jordan to become the Scarlet Knights Men’s Basketball Coach without vetting his resume. It turns out he did not graduate Rutgers and it would seem that he did not graduate from any college according to the Daily News.
Should the new athletic director be fired?
I mean if it’s determined she did do the things they are alleging, should she be fired? Teachers and coaches have a hard job. They should be commended for what they do. They prepare the next generation of leaders. When parents send their children to school they say, if someone bothers you tell the teacher. What happens when it is the teacher/coach who is the bully? What does this say about our society if we allow this double standard to remain within college athletic programs? There is a reason why we have anti- bullying workshops in our schools. What systems do we have in place to protect student athletes?
When parents send their children to school it is to gain knowledge in the classroom, on the field of sport and through socialization. The alleged charges that are being leveled at Julie Hermann is not what parents had in mind.
Because a student has earned a sport scholarship does this mean they should be brutalized? School is and must remain a safe haven for students. If the allegations against Ms. Hermann are true and she seeks help, should she be given a second chance?
By all accounts she does not remember events the same way they’ve been reported or at all, she claims. If it were your child who had made the allegations would you be willing to take that chance? What do you think? We would like to know…
