julie-hermann-jevon-tyree.JPG

Rutgers University Athletic Director Julie Hermann, shown in this file photo, met Wednesday with the parents of Jevon Tyree, a former Rutgers football player who alleges he was bullied by defensive coordinator David Cohen.

(Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-Ledger)

There's a bizarre new twist in the Jevon Tyree case: a mystery caller.



In trying to explain why Rutgers athletic director Julie Hermann insisted she had spoken to the father of the former football player who alleges he was bullied by defensive coordinator Dave Cohen, and the family's insistence she had never spoken to them, Rutgers has introduced Hermann's latest defense – a Mark Tyree imposter.



At a meeting Wednesday, brokered by Rev. Dr. DeForest B. Soaries Jr., the senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens, both sides got an admission they wanted, according to Soaries.



The Tyrees heard Hermann say she doesn't believe they lied when they said she had never spoken to them, and Hermann found a way to explain why she had insisted she twice had spoken with Mark Tyree and, as a Rutgers statement said, had resolved the matter to his satisfaction. And she got the Tyrees to accept that in order to resolve the dispute.



Soaries told The Star-Ledger that Hermann "now believes she had never spoken to the father. And the father and mother (believe) it is in the realm of possibility someone represented himself as the father" and called her office.



In other words, Hermann now says she spoke to someone about Jevon Tyree, but it wasn't the Tyrees.



Soaries told mycentraljersey.com that the family found the story "incredulous," but accepted it in order to move on.



"As incredulous as it appeared to the parents, they were able to at least agree to move on with the AD admitting that she was wrong (about the calls)," Soaries said.

He added: "The closest we could get to what I would call belief was their accepting my proposal that they give her the benefit of the doubt that what she has asserted is conceivable.”

Rutgers said in a statement last week that Hermann herself spoke to the father twice to address his concerns. The parents said that never happened.



"That is insane," Mark Tyree said Friday, minutes after the statement was issued.



On Saturday, when asked by Star-Ledger columnist Steve Politi if she had spoken to Mark Tyree, Hermann said, "Yeah. Somebody – if it's not him, who calls me and informs me of it? Otherwise, I wouldn't know about it. So I'm not trying to call – I'm not trying to use big words like the words he's using, but I'm informed by him, to my knowledge. If it's not him, who's calling me?"



Who, indeed.



So, now the job of determining the truth will fall on John Farmer Jr., the university's general counsel and former state attorney general. According to a statement released by the university Wednesday night after the meeting, Farmer will "assess all relevant facts and any subsequent actions taken by the university's athletics department."



The investigation will start at the incident in the study hall last spring, when Jevon Tyree says he was called names and threatened by Cohen in front of witnesses, through Tyree's departure from the team on Nov. 6.



University spokesman Pete McDonough told NJ.com that Farmer's review will begin as soon as possible. He said there is no timetable on the length of the investigation, adding it will be "as thorough and complete as it needs to be."



McDonough said Farmer will make the findings of his report known to university president Robert Barchi and the board of governors, who then will decide whether to make the findings public, McDonough said.



"The future of the report will be guided by the nature of its findings," McDonough said.



Clarice Tyree had stated that she wanted Jevon's scholarship to be honored for the 2013-14 academic year and for a full release to transfer to any school. Rutgers coach Kyle Flood has said the university will meet those terms.



Clarice Tyree said the family never had any intention of pursuing a lawsuit or seeking a financial settlement.

On Wednesday night, after the meeting, she told NJ.com that "Jevon is moving forward now and that was our greatest concern."