http://footballscoop.com/news/rutgers-inept-leadership/
ESPN’s Joe Schad reported that Flood had indeed emailed a professor but did not ask the professor to change the player’s grade but addressed what the player could do to improve his grade.
This morning, NJ.com revealed that Rutgers officials have known about and “initiated an investigation with the assistance of outside counsel” when this matter was brought to their attention “a little more than one week ago.” NJ.com noted that on Monday they attempted (through Rutgers employees) to review the contents of the email and sought comment from athletic director Julie Hermann, who referred all questions to the office of university president Robert Barchi. Note that as of this time, I have not seen any comments from the president’s office either.
So, Monday, Rutgers officials were aware that NJ.com had knowledge of the investigation (for now, we won’t even dive into the question of who tipped them off). I’m sure you’re thinking the same thing I am, right? Why didn’t Rutgers address this before allowing NJ.com to break the “scandal”? Oh, and let’s dive into this “investigation.” Someone brought the email to the administration’s attention “a little more than a week ago,” and Rutgers said they immediately brought in outside counsel to assist. How complicated is this investigation? Read the email. Ask the teacher about it. Ask Kyle Flood about it. Do we have a problem or not? Seems that could have been completed in far, far less than a week.
Less than a year ago, when announcing a contract extension for Flood, university president Robert Barchi said, “Coach Flood exemplifies our university’s standards and values both on and off the field.”
Looking back, it sounds as if Flood might not have made the best decision about how to reach out to a faculty member about one of his players. Rutgers has known about this for over a week. Seems like someone there could have been prepared to say, at the very least, “Coach Flood is a good man and has done a good job leading our program. Recently, he sent an email to a professor inquiring about the status of one of his players. A concern was raised about the email and we are in the process of reviewing whether any further action is required. We expect to have an update by _____…”
So, what do we have here? Another example of inept leadership within Rutgers athletics? Or should we perhaps put on the conspiracy theorist hat and go with a leak from within (only place a leak would come from) planted to, at the very least, smear Kyle Flood. Considering Rutgers’ long history of dysfunction, and that utter chaos has been the department’s m.o. since Hermann’s arrival, anything seems possible here.
Time will tell; but the way this came out, and the absolute silence from Hermann, sure does feel wrong.
