I wonder how much controversy it will take before the Big Ten Conference says it has had enough of Rutgers antics! Yet again, Rutgers University is making headlines for an abusive coaching style. However, Mike Rice is not the one at fault. Julie Hermann was recently hired as Tim Pernetti’s replacement and she has brought her own drama to the Garden State. Hermann was a former volleyball coach at Tennessee for 16 years and apparently her coaching style was also called into question. Her players submitted a letter claiming that Hermann used mental abuse as a coaching technique. When Hermann was questioned about this letter claimed she did not recall it. There was also reports that Hermann had fired an assistant coach when she became pregnant and then filed a discrimination suit in 1997.
This is clearly not the fresh start that Rutgers was hoping for. Instead it just further shows the ineptitude of those in charge of the university. Somehow, n Barchi kept his job amid the Mike Rice scandal, but it does not appear that was a wise decision. Barchi has come back under fire for the hiring of Hermann and for not looking into her past abuse allegations. It always seems that Rutgers takes one step forward and then four or five back.
