Hermann faces criticism for Sandusky comment
Athletic Director Julie Hermann is once again the subject of controversy after her comment about former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky leaked to the media.
She made the remarks at a staff meeting last fall, according to an nj.com article. The news comes a week after Hermann apologized to Penn State for Rutgers fans’ “regrettable” behavior at the Rutgers-Penn State football game.
According to the article, Hermann said the Rutgers program had to “reach out and touch donors,” and then added they should not do it “in a Sandusky way.”
The staff members at the meeting were apparently shocked, according to the article.
“Everyone looked at each other and said, ‘Say what?’” a Rutgers official at the meeting told nj.com.
Another official told nj.com several staff members wondered if Hermann was kidding.
“Comparing relationships with donors or with people in organizations that we want to drum up and get money from in that relationship and saying we have to get close to them and touch them? And she goes ‘not like Sandusky,’” the official said in the article.
In an email statement to The Daily Targum, Peter McDonough, senior vice president for external affairs, said the statement was an off-the-cuff remark in response to a conversation about fundraising.
“There probably isn’t a person alive today who hasn’t made an impromptu remark in a private meeting that probably shouldn’t have been said,” he said in the email.
He also said via email the comments were not directed at Penn State students, staff or faculty.
The remark was not relevant to Hermann’s great performance, he said.
“Bringing change always ruffles some feathers, but the results are clear,” he said in the statement. “Ticket sales are setting new records for home and away games, the R-Care program is serving our student athletes’ academic, social and personal well-being, and our fundraising up.”
Read Targum’s editorial regarding Hermann’s comments here.
