By By Yukio Strachan May 26, 2013 in Sports Piscataway - Julie Hermann, Rutgers' new athletic director hired after the firing of men’s basketball head coach Mike Rice, who was caught on video abusing players –– quit as a coach 16 years ago for apparently doing the same, The Star-Ledger reported Saturday. "It has been unanimously decided that this is an irreconcilable issue," they concluded. The players told Now one of Hermann's most important job duties will be the hiring and firing of coaches for Rutgers University. The 49-year-old who turned and left the room without apologizing 16 years ago, according to the players, has promised a restart for an athletic program still reeling from the controversy that cost former athletic director Tim Pernetti and basketball coach Mike Rice their jobs. "No one on the coaching staff doesn't believe that we need to be an open book ( "Rutgers' problems started in December when Rice was suspended three games and fined $75,000 by the school after a video of his conduct at practices was given to Pernetti by Eric Murdock, a former assistant coach." From the AP: The video showed numerous clips of Rice firing basketballs at players, hitting them in the back, legs, feet and shoulders. It also showed him grabbing players by their jerseys and yanking them around the court. Rice can also be heard yelling obscenities and using anti-gay slurs. The controversy went public in April when ESPN aired the videos and Rutgers President Robert Barchi admitted he didn't view the video in the fall. Rice was fired and Pernetti, assistant coach Jimmy Martelli and interim senior vice president and university counsel John Wolf resigned. The Wedding Video At Hermann's news conference, Brian Thompson of NBC questioned Hermann about a 1997 discrimination lawsuit alleging she discouraged her then assistant coach, Ginger Hineline, from becoming pregnant. The jury awarded Hineline $150,000. When Thompson made reference to a "wedding video" that the assistant coach referenced in the suit, Hermann denied its existence. "There's no video," she tells reporters at the press conference, "trust me." The wedding video can be seen above. The Star-Ledger put the video in question side by side with the press conference video from a couple weeks ago. How ironic Hermann also denied existence of her former team's letter. "I never heard any of this, never name-calling them or anything like that whatsoever," she told The Star-Ledger. "None of this is familiar to me." After a series of interviews with many of the former Tennessee players about Hermann, The Star-Ledger said: "Their accounts depict a coach who thought nothing of demeaning them, who would ridicule and laugh at them over their weight and their performances, sometimes forcing players to do 100 sideline push-ups during games, who punished them after losses by making them wear their workout clothes inside out in public or not allowing them to shower or eat, and who pitted them against one another, cutting down particular players with the whole team watching, and through gossip. "Several women said playing for Hermann had driven them into depression and counseling, and that her conduct had sullied the experience of playing Division I volleyball." "How ironic," said Kelly Hanlon Dow, a sophomore on the 1996 team to the Star-Ledger, "that Rutgers had an abusive coach and they're bringing in someone who was an abusive coach." Hermann is set to take over the Rutgers' program June 17. In the letter submitted by all 15 members of the University of Tennessee Volleyball team, the players told their former Head coach: "The mental cruelty that we as a team have suffered is unbearable," they wrote, adding that she called them "whores, alcoholics and learning disabled.""It has been unanimously decided that this is an irreconcilable issue," they concluded.The players told The Star-Ledger that Hermann took it all in before saying: "I choose not to coach you guys."Now one of Hermann's most important job duties will be the hiring and firing of coaches for Rutgers University. Hired May 15 after serving as the executive senior associate director of athletics for the University of Louisville (U of L), Hermann is just the third woman to serve as the top athletic administrator at a major U.S. university, according to the Wall Street Journal The 49-year-old who turned and left the room without apologizing 16 years ago, according to the players, has promised a restart for an athletic program still reeling from the controversy that cost former athletic director Tim Pernetti and basketball coach Mike Rice their jobs."No one on the coaching staff doesn't believe that we need to be an open book ( Freudian slip ?), that we will no longer have any practice, anywhere at any time, that anybody couldn't walk into and be pleased about what's going on in that environment. It is a new day. It is already fixed," Hermann said at her introductory news conference, The Associated Press reported "Rutgers' problems started in December when Rice was suspended three games and fined $75,000 by the school after a video of his conduct at practices was given to Pernetti by Eric Murdock, a former assistant coach."From the AP:At Hermann's news conference, Brian Thompson of NBC questioned Hermann about a 1997 discrimination lawsuit alleging she discouraged her then assistant coach, Ginger Hineline, from becoming pregnant. The jury awarded Hineline $150,000.When Thompson made reference to a "wedding video" that the assistant coach referenced in the suit, Hermann denied its existence."There's no video," she tells reporters at the press conference, "trust me."The wedding video can be seen above.The Star-Ledger put the video in question side by side with the press conference video from a couple weeks ago.Hermann also denied existence of her former team's letter."I never heard any of this, never name-calling them or anything like that whatsoever," she told The Star-Ledger. "None of this is familiar to me."After a series of interviews with many of the former Tennessee players about Hermann, The Star-Ledger said:"Several women said playing for Hermann had driven them into depression and counseling, and that her conduct had sullied the experience of playing Division I volleyball.""How ironic," said Kelly Hanlon Dow, a sophomore on the 1996 team to the Star-Ledger, "that Rutgers had an abusive coach and they're bringing in someone who was an abusive coach."Hermann is set to take over the Rutgers' program June 17. More about rutgers basketball, Julie Hermann, Abuse, Mike Rice scandal, mike rice More news from rutgers basketball Julie Hermann Abuse Mike Rice scandal mike rice Rutgers Athletic Dir... Tim Pernetti