Eric LeGrand accepts apology from Rutgers president Robert Barchi and agrees to speak at commencement


Former Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand will speak at the university's commencement on May 18.

(John O'Boyle/The Star-Ledger)

Eric LeGrand agreed to speak at Rutgers' commencement on May 18 after a 20-minute phone conversation Tuesday afternoon with university president Robert Barchi.

Barchi apologized for what he called a "miscommunication," as LeGrand believed he would be the keynote speaker at the commencement.

LeGrand, the former Rutgers defensive tackle paralyzed in a 2010 game, was upset to learn on Monday night from Rutgers athletic director Julie Hermann that former governor Tom Kean had been announced as the commencement speaker. LeGrand received a voice message from Hermann explaining that "President Barchi decided to go in another direction for political reasons."

LeGrand was unable to get an explanation for the decision from Rutgers officials on Monday night. On Tuesday morning, LeGrand spoke with Richard Edwards, the interim chancellor of Rutgers' New Brunswick campus, and requested to speak with Barchi.

"(Barchi) initially answered the phone," LeGrand said, 'and he said, 'Eric, I want to offer you a huge apology on my part on everything that has happened over the past 24 hours.' He explained to me the whole situation and then before he ended it he said, 'I'm very sorry that you had to go through this whole thing.' "

Barchi detailed the breakdown in communication that left LeGrand confused and searching for answers for 14 hours.

"He just explained to me the miscommunication between him and his team," LeGrand said. "He and Tom Kean talked on Saturday morning and had everything worked out, but he didn't update the team until Monday afternoon when they had that meeting. The team took the initiative to reach out to me thinking they could get me. That was the whole miscommunication because when they had the meeting on Monday, Barchi said they had (Kean) but he didn't realize that they had me. So there was the miscommunication between the team."

LeGrand said he had been communicating with Barchi's chief of staff Greg Jackson, who extended the initial offer to speak at commencement on Saturday night. LeGrand doesn't know why Hermann called him to inform him that he wouldn't speaking.

"I don't know what involvement Julie had with the meeting or not, if she was even in the meeting with them," LeGrand said. "But I know when they called me and I talked to Greg Jackson, he was going into the meeting and that's when he found out about Tom Kean. Then Julie Hermann called me after and she was explaining to me that they were going to Tom Kean, they're not going with me. So I would guess she probably wasn't even in the meeting. She probably heard from the officials in the announcement."

Kean will remain the keynote speaker, but LeGrand said he will be given as much time as needed to make his speech. LeGrand, who continued taking classes throughout his rehabilitation, will receive his degree in labor relations from Barchi at the ceremony at High Point Solutions Stadium. LeGrand's No. 52 hangs in the stadium after his number became the first in program history to be retired last fall.

LeGrand had planned only to attend the May 17 graduation ceremony for the School of Management and Labor Relations. But Barchi's apology helped change LeGrand's mind.

"It sounded very sincere and that's why I believed him and that's why I feel a lot better about it," LeGrand said. "He could have come out and just been like, 'Listen, this is what happened and this is it.' But he came on and he said he wanted to give me his sincere apology because of the whole miscommunication. I have to go with it. I really believe that it came from his heart."

The issue became public when LeGrand sent out a tweet to his 130,000 Twitter followers on Monday night about the situation. LeGrand said he had received numerous messages on Twitter and Facebook requesting him to speak at the commencement after former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice backed out on Saturday.

"I didn't understand what was going on and I had to defend myself on being approached on something and then feeling like I was disrespected because I didn't understand the miscommunication," LeGrand said. "But now, understanding the miscommunication, it happens. It is what it is. I'm sure they have their issues that they have to deal with in-house. They're always being under attack for something."

LeGrand said he was not offered the $35,000 fee that Rice was set to receive.

"I'm not going to accept any money from this whole situation," LeGrand said. "It wasn't about the money from the beginning. I just wanted to be able to talk to my graduating class."

LeGrand said he is working with the university to determine how to allocate those funds. A donation to "Team LeGrand" or a similar foundation dedicated to spinal cord research is a possibility.

"I have to see what they have planned and what they want to do with it," LeGrand said. "Then I have to agree to terms of what they're going to do with the money. We'll see where it goes. (Barchi) has to talk with his team about what they're going to do."

LeGrand, who has made inspirational speeches across the country since suffering his injury, joked that this has to be his best speech ever after so much controversy.

"I'm just happy that I was able to work it out," LeGrand said. "Now I can get back to what I wanted to do and that's speak to the class because that's what it's all about, especially since they're close to my age and I really feel like I can give a good message to them."