The New Jersey State Ethics Commission has opened an investigation into whether Patrick Hobbs broke conflict-of-interest laws while engaged in a personal relationship with a coach during his term as athletic director at Rutgers.
As reported by NJ Advance Media columnist Steve Politi, Hobbs could face significant fines or be barred him from holding a state job in the future, based on what the commission uncovers.
The commission is looking into Hobbs. 65, and his failure to recuse himself from personnel matters — including contract extensions, pay raises and internal investigations — involving former Rutgers gymnastics coach Umme Salim-Beasley while the two were engaged in a personal relationship, sources told NJ Advance Media.
Hobbs resigned as athletic director Aug. 16, 2024, the same day that he was scheduled to meet with a law firm hired to investigate a consensual, improper relationship with Salim-Beasley. "He cited a consultation with his cardiac team at the time as the reason for stepping down just days before the start of a much-anticipated football season," Politi wrote.
Per Politi's reporting, the university later tasked former New Jersey State Comptroller Matthew Boxer with investigating the Hobbs/Salim-Beasley relationship and claims of a toxic environment within the university’s gymnastics program. Boxer concluded in a 50-page report released in January that Hobbs should have recused himself as Salim-Beasley’s supervisor when the latter received bonuses and pay increases.
Salim-Beasley’s salary doubled from May 2018, when she earned $95,000 annually, to the 2023-24 season, when she earned $190,000 between her base salary of $165,000 and a $25,000 retention bonus. She signed three contract extensions in six years.
According to Politi, Boxer’s report also found that Hobbs attempted to meddle with an internal investigation into accusations against Salim-Beasley and broke procedure by informing the coach about specific gymnasts on her team who had raised concerns about her to him.
“Ultimately, Hobbs’ involvement in the Gymnastics program and perceptions of the close relationship seemed to dissuade Athletics officials from getting more involved in trying to address the worsening issues in the program,” the report found.
The Ethics Commission is a seven-person panel founded in 1973 with the “power to undertake investigations and hold hearings regarding alleged violations” of the state’s conflict-of-interest laws, according to website language cited by Politi.
"If it finds state employees in violation of those laws, it has the authority to fine them $500 to $10,000 per violation, suspend them for up to a year and — in extreme cases — order their termination and bar them from public employment for up to five years," Politi wrote.
