Rutgers Athletic Director Pat Hobbs is apologizing for an incident which occured last weekend where he was filmed chugging a beer at a Rutgers football student tailgate party.
The video, which made it way from as a student camera phone to New Brunswick Today, shows Hobbs attempting to speak and allegedly restore order to a group of wild students before eventually giving in himself.
Hobbs touched on the chug in his apology saying, “My first concern is always for the safety and well-being of our students. Anyone who was at the (student tailgate) Saturday knows that I was acting to ensure that.”
According to NJ.com, pn Aug. 31, the school announced that it would sponsor a student tailgate ahead of home games for the 2016 season. Dubbed “the Alley,” the tailgate took place 400 yards away from the stadium and was filled with well, what college kids do during tailgates. Around an estimated 2500 students filled the area on the day Hobbs chugged the beer.
On Tuesday, to the dismay of many students, the Rutgers athletics department announced that it would be shutting down “the Alley” for the rest of the season, stating,”Regrettably, due to safety concerns, The Alley is no longer available for student tailgating.’
Regrettably, due to safety concerns, The Alley is no longer available
for student tailgating.— Rutgers Athletics (@RUAthletics) September 20, 2016
While all Rutgers students were permitted to enter the student tailgate, school officials mandated that only student organizations to be allowed to reserve a spot in the lot. A total of 25 permits were administered on a first-come, first-serve basis on the Thursdays leading up to the first two home games.
Hobbs said picking up the beer was “a mistake.” He added, “I regret that any action on my part can be interpreted as promoting the use of alcohol. That was certainly not my intention.”
