Have you heard the one about Rutgers athletic director Julie Hermann telling a Jerry Sandusky joke then criticizing students at the school for doing the same?
It’s not that funny. Neither was this: Multiple witnesses told NJ.com that Hermann, whose 17-month tenure at Rutgers has been pocked by one embarrassing faux pas after another, made a remark at a staff meeting last fall along the lines of: “We have to reach out to donors and touch them. Not in a Jerry Sandusky way.”
The revelation Friday comes days after Hermann apologized on the behalf of fans who brought offensive signs and T-shirts to last weekend’s Big Ten football game against Penn State referring to Sandusky, the convicted pedophile and former Nittany Lions defensive coordinator. Hermann posted a statement that labeled the fans’ misguided sense of humor as “regrettable actions” and “classless behavior.”
Considering the irony, fed-up Rutgers officials lined up to tell NJ.com — whose newspaper partner, the Newark Star-Ledger, was a Hermann target in one of her more egregious gaffes — about Hermann’s joke-fail. But Hermann, who also has bullying, lying and discrimination accusations on her record, again received the backing of university brass.
“The University is not going to let a spontaneous, offhand remark obscure the fact that Julie is doing a great job as Athletics Director,” said Pete McDonough, senior vice president for external affairs.