Ex-Rutgers Coach had a ‘relationship’ with gymnastics team coach: report

An investigation into former Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs, who quit last August, concluded that he had a “relationship” with the gymnastics coach Umme Salim-Beasley that went against university policy.

Hobbs quit his $1.1 million job on Aug. 16 two days after he learned the school was launching an investigation into allegations of a consensual relationship with Salim-Beasley, according to the report.

Hobbs had been a fixture at gymnastic competitions and practices and gymnasts reported unusual behavior, including comments Hobbs and Salim-Beasley made toward each other at a tarot-card reading event, USA Today reported.

Former Rutgers athletic director resigned from his $1.1 million job when he learned an investigation into his relationship with the gymnastics team coach. Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The four-month $750,000 investigation was conducted by Lowenstein Sandler LLP, which interviewed 62 witnesses. Hobbs declined to be interviewed.

At the tarot event for the athletic department last winter, Hobbs was asked about the most important thing in life, according two gymnasts. The former athletic director looked at Salim-Beasley and said “love.”

Gymnasts were also flummoxed by “Hobbs accompanying the team on a trip to Nashville and participating with the team and the coaches in a yoga session,” the investigators reported.

Salim-Beasley “lost control” of her program and ran a “divided and dysfunctional organization,” the investigation concluded. Rutgers said Friday, just after the report was made public, that Salim-Beasley had been placed on administrative leave.

Both Hobbs and Salim-Beasley are married to other people.

Investigators said Rutgers hired them following reports of a “toxic environment” in the gymnastics program that included bullying and favoritism on the part of Salim-Beasley.

The four-month $750,000 investigation was conducted by Lowenstein Sandler LLP, which interviewed 62 witnesses, some of whom sat for more than one interview. Umme Salim-Beasley pushed back on allegations that she played favorites. AP

They found there was discord within the team but at least one gymnast wrote a glowing review of Salim-Beasley, calling her “an incredible coach in my life.”

Salim-Beasley said she did not play favorites or ignore her gymnasts’ physical or emotional issues.

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