The allegations against
Hermann have raised questions about whether the Newark, New Jersey,
university properly vetted Hermann before hiring her.
But Christie told New
Jersey 101.5 radio that he spoke with the university's president and
board chairman about the allegations and that he would not second-guess
Rutgers' hiring of Hermann.
"I told them I had
questions, and I was going to get answers to those questions," he said
on the radio station's weekly "Ask the Governor" show on Tuesday. "I
have gotten answers to those questions."
Rutgers, meanwhile, went
on the defensive Tuesday, releasing a list of names and contacts for
supporters of Hermann. It also put out a statement that said she was on
the "original list of candidates" assembled by a search firm for the
position.
"Julie also was among the
group of candidates considered at each step of the search process from
the beginning," the statement said.
Hermann was named in a
2008 lawsuit filed by Mary Banker, an assistant track and field coach,
who alleged she was the victim of sex discrimination by the head coach
and then fired after she complained to Hermann and the university's
human resources department, according to documents.
Banker alleged in the
complaint that when she told Hermann about the discrimination, which
included offensive comments, she was praised.
"We're lucky to have you," Hermann allegedly said in an e-mail, according to court documents.
A jury in Kentucky
awarded Banker $300,000 in damages and lost wages, but it was overturned
by an appeals court. Banker's attorney is appealing the ruling to the
Kentucky Supreme Court, according to court documents.
Hermann did not return a telephone call from CNN seeking comment.
The University of
Louisville, in state Supreme Court court filings, defended the firing,
saying the evidence showed Banker was "an abysmal coach and recruiter."
Word of the Louisville lawsuit followed news first reported Sunday by a New Jersey newspaper, The Star-Ledger, that a group of former volleyball players at Tennessee accused Hermann of "mental cruelty."
In a letter written in
1997 and obtained by the newspaper, members of the team purportedly
claimed that Hermann called players "whores, alcoholics and learning
disabled."
Verbal abuse from
Hermann became so intense, they claimed, that the team banded together
to write the letter, calling the situation "irreconcilable." After the
team presented the letter to Hermann, she chose to stop coaching them,
according to the newspaper's report.
One former Tennessee volleyball player defended Hermann in a statement of support, which was released by Rutgers.
"You were tough no doubt
but I knew you cared and I went from being a kid with a bad attitude
who thought I was God's gift to athletics to the captain of my team,"
wrote Sonya Thomas, who played for Tennessee from 1992 to 1995.
The revelation that Julie
Hermann was at the center of a discrimination lawsuit while working at
the University of Louisville, according to the documents, came just days
after a report that a group of University of Tennessee volleyball
players accused her of verbal abuse when she coached them in the 1990s.
Hermann's appointment as
Rutgers athletic director came more than a month after a video of a
Rutgers coach hurling basketballs and yelling homophobic slurs prompted the coach's firing, the resignation of the school's athletic director and sharp criticism from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
"It is a new day,"
Hermann told reporters after being appointed. "(The problem) is already
fixed, and there is no one that doesn't agree about how we treat young
people with respect and dignity and build trust."
"Your intensity helped
me be mentally tough and it was exactly what I needed. None of it was
abusive, mean spirited or demeaning."
In a written statement
released Monday, Hermann said her former students' comments are
"heartbreaking." She denied the allegations of abuse and vowed to push
ahead in her new role.
"I was never notified of
the reported letter outlining the concerns of some former athletes.
However, I am truly sorry that some were disappointed during my tenure
as coach," she said. "For sure, I was an intense coach, but there is a
vast difference between high intensity and abusive behavior."
Hermann said her commitment to students' success has been firm throughout her career.
Rutgers University President Robert L. Barchi said Monday that he stands by the school's choice.
"Rutgers was
deliberative at every stage of this process," he said in a written
statement. "Over the course of the search, Julie's record established
her as a proven leader in athletics administration with a strong
commitment to academic success as well as athletic excellence, and a
strong commitment to the well-being of student athletes."
A University of Tennessee spokeswoman declined to comment.
Louisville women's basketball coach Jeff Walz backed Hermann, his boss over the last six years.
While he couldn't speak
about what may or may not have happened at Tennessee, Walz said that in
their time together at Louisville, he found Hermman to be "a very good
administrator who always put the student athletes' well-being first, no
matter what situation it was."
The Cardinals coach said
he didn't see the uproar over Hermann coming, given his observations of
her with him and his players. He credits her with helping put a solid
system in place, so student athletes were in good hands from their first
day on campus through to their graduation.
"(In) the six years that
I had with her, she was very competent at what she does, how she
handles situations, and how she treats the student athletes," Walz said.
