Report: Rutgers’ Kyle Flood contacted part-time professor about grades
A representative of the Rutgers faculty union has told NJ.com that the professor contacted by head football coach Kyle Flood was likely a part-time lecturer who makes less than $5,000 per class each semester.
Flood is reportedly under investigation by the school for having inappropriate contact with a faculty member regarding the academic status of junior cornerback Nadir Barnwell, after sending an email to an unnamed professor from his private email account.
Rutgers faculty union president David Hughes pointed out the amount of pressure Flood, the university’s highest paid employee, would be able to exert in a single email to a part-time employee of the school, according to NJ.com.
"You can imagine how someone in those situations would feel," Hughes said. "A guy earning a million dollars is talking to an instructor earning less than $5,000."
Hughes also expressed disappointment that the school’s president had not yet made a statement supporting the necessity of keeping athletics from influencing academic standing.
When asked about the allegations on Tuesday, Flood said that any contact he has had with a faculty member has been within Rutgers’ standards for interaction between faculty and coaches.
“Any correspondence that I had with a professor in regards to a student athlete would really be of this nature. One, to be in support of whatever decision that faculty member made. And two, to inquire as to whether or not there would be an opportunity to earn a better grade. This practice is not unusual at Rutgers. Many students all over campus receive what are called ‘t grades’ -- doing work outside of when the class ends that semester to earn a better grade.”
