Rutgers' Hermann reveals lesbian partner

An update to Rutgers University's online biography of its new athletic director, Julie Hermann, caused a stir Thursday as media outlets began to pick up on its last sentence:

"Hermann and her partner Dr. Leslie Danehy are the proud parents of a 7-year-old son, Aidan."

Danehy is an emotional-intelligence coach and consultant, according to an online biography.

Asked by ESPN about the relationship, Hermann said she was "really blessed to have a wonderful family, and we're excited to become part of the Rutgers community."

When Hermann's bio was updated was unclear Thursday night. A version cached by Google and dated July 12 showed the same version.

A spokesman for the school's athletic department could not be immediately reached Thursday evening.

Hermann was in Chicago this week for Big Ten media days. Rutgers is to join the conference next year.

She joined Rutgers after 15 years in the administration at the University of Louisville athletic department.

Her arrival at Rutgers was clouded by controversy as reports emerged that women's volleyball players whom she coached at the University of Tennessee - before she joined Louisville - had accused her of mistreating them. She denied the allegations and the Rutgers administration stood by her.

Hermann was selected to replace Tim Pernetti, who resigned as athletic director in the aftermath of the scandal surrounding former men's basketball coach Mike Rice.

Video footage surfaced in April showing Rice hurling basketballs and antigay slurs toward his players during practices. Rice was fired the day after ESPN broadcast excerpts from the video.

That scandal also claimed the jobs of assistant basketball coach Jimmy Martelli and general counsel John Wolf.

The school this week released a report detailing the findings of an investigation by an outside law firm, which said that the school had exercised "insufficient oversight" over the athletic department.

Recommendations, some of which had been called for in a 2008 review of the department, included forming an interdepartmental risk management committee, improving intra-university communication, and installing a clearer reporting process among the board of governors, the administration, and the athletics department.