New Rutgers athletic director revealed to be involved in another sex discrimination suit

Yet another unflattering revelation has emerged about Julie Hermann, the new Rutgers athletic director charged with helping New Jersey's state university heal in the wake of the abusive coaching scandal.

Hermann, 49, was allegedly at the center of a 2008 sex discrimination lawsuit filed by assistant track and field coach Mary Banker when Hermann was senior athletic director at Louisville, according to The New York Times.

Banker said she complained to Hermann about being told by head coach Ron Mann to set up party tables and make food arrangements for recruiting lunches and that male coaches used derogatory words for females when referring to student athletes, said the paper, citing court documents. Weeks after taking her concerns to the university's human resources department, which angered Hermann, she was fired, Banker said. Lawyers for the university contended in court that Mann and Hermann decided not to renew Banker's contract because Banker's recruitment efforts were inadequate and said she was "rude and confrontational" in meetings.

Banker was awarded $300,000 in a jury trial, which was overturned on appeal and the Kentucky Supreme Court has now been asked to hear the case, the Times said.

Shortly after Hermann's hiring this month, the Star-Ledger broke a story that former players from the University of Tennessee contended that Hermann emotionally abused them, charges Hermann denied.

Rutgers men's basketball coach Mike Rice was fired in April after video surfaced of him verbally and physically abusing his players. Hermann's predecessor, Tim Pernetti, resigned shortly after.

Rutgers did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.