The two words Julie Hermann can’t escape are the ones she uttered at her introductory press conference — “Trust me.’’
When asked about a video from the wedding of Ginger Hineline, her former women’s volleyball assistant coach at Tennessee, Hermann said, “There’s no video, trust me.’’
As we know, there is a video.
And there is a 1997 letter from her former Tennessee volleyball players that outlines her verbal abuse.
And there was a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit at Tennessee.
This is all from a person who the parents of potential Rutgers student-athletes must consider when their son or daughter chooses the college of their choice. When that choice is made, parents are taking one of the biggest leaps of faith they face.
They are trusting their flesh and blood to a university.
They are trusting their child will be looked after. They are trusting their child will be respected. They are trusting that in four or five years, their child will leave that university with a degree and a better sense of self.
“Trust me,’’ said Hermann.
If you’re a parent of a college-bound student-athlete, you have one question that demands an answer: Why?
Since Hermann was introduced two weeks ago, she has not inspired trust or gained trust. She can do that, however.
Today, she can stop the flow of scarlet red blood by saying she will not take the office of the Rutgers athletic director on June 17. It’s in the best interest of Rutgers to do so. It’s in her best interest.
Hermann and her camp seemed to have weathered the storm. After the Newark Star-Ledger article that reported she had verbally abused her players, powerful members of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators rushed out statements in support of Hermann.
Rutgers president Dr. Robert Barchi came out in support of Hermann’s hiring. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie came out in support of Barchi, and questioned the veracity of the letter that 15 Tennessee volleyball players wrote and delivered to Hermann.
But yesterday one of those former players, Erin Zammett Ruddy, posted a blog stating that everything in that newspaper article was true. All of it.
“This reflects worse on Rutgers than it does on Julie,’’ wrote Ruddy.
It’s hard to argue that point.
It’s also clear Barchi doesn’t have the stones to tell his board of governors the choice of Hermann was a mistake. It’s clear that Christie — who said he won’t micro-manage Rutgers — has done a nimble job of supporting Barchi without saying Hermann is his choice.
Since neither of these two men in positions of leadership is willing to lead, Hermann can. She can, for the first time since her appointment was announced, give the public reason to think she’s a trustworthy person.
She can do that by stating the obvious.
It no longer matters if she lied or told the truth. It no longer matters if she has a good memory or is an absent-minded administrator.
All that matters is that the parents of every student-athlete who is considering Rutgers cringes when they remember Hermann saying, “Trust me.”