Report: Bullying & toxic workplace allegations made against Rutgers athletics official

Per a report on Friday from Matthew Stanmyre, Susan Livio and Keith Sargeant of NJ Advance Media, formal complaints involving allegations of bullying and creating a toxic workplace have been previously made against Michael Szul, who is Rutgers’ senior associate athletic director for finance, administration and planning.

The report states that Szul “was accused of racial discrimination and creating a hostile work environment in separate complaints filed with the school’s human resources department, according to six sources familiar with the complaints.”

The report can be viewed here.

Szul reports directly to Rutgers Athletic Director Pat Hobbs and is the “third-highest paid employee in Rutgers athletics’ 167-person administrative/operations workforce, behind only Hobbs and deputy athletics director Sarah Baumgartner,” per the report.

This is the third allegation of abuse within the athletic department during Hobbs’ five year tenure as AD. In October, allegations of abuse were reported against softball head coach Kristen Butler and her program, which led outgoing Rutgers President Robert Barchi to launch an outside investigation that is still ongoing. In 2017, allegations of bullying by former swimming and diving head coach Petra Martin were reported and she was ultimately fired by Rutgers. They agreed to a settlement of $725,000 in 2018.

As updates are reported on the current allegations made by Rutgers athletic department employees against Szul, we will provide them.