There was a time, not long ago, when the nation looked at Rutgers athletics and marveled at its class, dignity and empathy.
Eric LeGrand, a defensive lineman for the Scarlet Knights, was paralyzed from the neck down in a game against Army in October 2010. LeGrand received immediate and expert medical care. The university rallied. Other universities and professional teams donated money and support.
And then coach Greg Schiano uttered the words, “We are going to believe Eric LeGrand is going to walk on that field again with us. That’s what we believe.”
It was Rutgers at its best.
Now Rutgers is at its worst.
The actions of former basketball coach Mike Rice, fired for throwing basketballs at players’ heads and hurling homophobic slurs at them; the slightly embarrassing gaffe of introducing new coach Eddie Jordan as a Rutgers graduate when he was not; and the harried search to find a new athletic director that culminated with the now-controversial appointment of Julie Hermann has made the Rutgers athletic department looking like a three-ring circus with no headmaster and a bunch of clowns.
“I was at an event [Thursday] night for Justin Tuck and everyone was just talking about how embarrassing it is,’’ LeGrand told The Post in an exclusive interview.
Embarrassing, controversial, contentious — take your pick.
Hermann’s appointment has polarized an athletic department, a university and a state. Lawmakers throughout the Garden State continue to press for the answers to questions about the thoroughness, transparency and efficiency of the search process.
Last Thursday afternoon, New Jersey state senator Barbara Buono stood before the state legislature and urged it take action to address “the crisis that is continuing to evolve at our flagship university.’’
Since Hermann’s appointment, it was learned she verbally abused her players on the Tennessee women’s volleyball team and she was involved in two lawsuits — one at Tennessee and the other at Louisville, her most recent employer.
Questions as to whether she was forthcoming on vetting forms have surfaced, as have concerns Hermann’s candidacy might have been forced through by Kate Sweeney, the co-chair of the Rutgers executive search committee, according to multiple sources.
For a man who once wore the No. 52 Rutgers jersey — who almost lost his life on a freak play and who now represents the State University of New Jersey with courage, dignity and hope — these events have been a blow to LeGrand’s heart.
“It’s sad to see, it really is,’’ said LeGrand, who declined to comment on Hermann’s appointment until he has all the facts.
He does, however, see what the nation sees:
Rutgers, which starred in the one of the great college football moments of the 2006 season when it rallied to beat Louisville in a nationally televised game, and has recently joined the nation’s premier conference, the Big Ten, has tripped over its own untied shoelaces.
“I feel Rutgers has been at its best from 2006 up until this year,’’ said LeGrand. “That was our best period. We’re going through a tough time right now, but I firmly believe that we’ll get over it.’’
If anyone knows about resilience, it is LeGrand. Doctors initially thought he would be paralyzed from the neck down. But on Oct. 29, 2011, riding his motorized wheelchair, he led the Scarlet Knights onto the field.
LeGrand will host the third annual A Walk to Believe on June 15 at Rutgers Stadium. The money raised will be split between the Eric LeGrand Believe Fund and research that will help doctors learn more about treating and ultimately curing spinal cord injuries.
“We’re going to find the answers,’’ LeGrand said.
One only hopes Rutgers does, too.
* For more information on the third annual A Walk to Believe, visit http://www.awalktobelieve.org.