New Jersey Taxpayers Spent $70K on Rutgers AD Background Check

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie remains “confident” in Rutgers president Robert Barchi despite a series of scandals involving the universities athletic department.

Recently, however, it was revealed that the taxpayer-funded institution spent $70,000 for a background check of embattled athletic director Julie Hermann that failed to disclose the numerous allegations that have surfaced since she became the third active female to hold the position at an FCS university.

The firm hired to conduct the background investigation failed to uncover that Hermann was at the center of a sex discrimination lawsuit, quit her position as volleyball coach after abuse allegations, and was forced to pay $150,000 after allegedly firing a coach for being pregnant.

Reported allegations against Hermann are simply the latest in a series of gross missteps by the Rutgers athletic department that began with the failure to remove abusive coach Mike Rice.