Rutgers hasn’t enjoyed too much success on the football field in recent years, so when the school made the move to create a student tailgate area to generate fan interest, the decision made some sense. However, the school has already closed the section due to safety worries and the school’s athletic director had a funny way of addressing those concerns.
Prior to Saturday’s game against New Mexico, Pat Hobbs took to the stage to speak to the assembled masses and, in short, he decided it would be a good idea to chug a beer. In public. On camera.
Hobbs has already issued a statement explaining his actions:
“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.”
To be fair, it was clear that Hobbs’ first instinct was to refuse a beer handed to him by someone at the event, and he later apologized, saying, “I regret that any action on my part can be interpreted as promoting the use of alcohol,” and that it, “was certainly not (his) intention.’’ At the same time, it isn’t a surprise that this video is now making the internet rounds, as it’s not every day you see a major college athletic director pounding a beer in front of students on a stage.
Rutgers won’t be utilizing the student tailgate zone anymore, but this video will live forever on the profile of Pat Hobbs.
(Via NJ.com)
