As student athletes return to campus for the start of the fall season, Athletics Director Stuart Robinson — who has worked for the university since 2020 — will be absent from the sidelines due to an administrative leave. Multiple sources close to the Athletics Department, who have asked to remain anonymous due to privacy concerns, told WSN that Robinson’s absence is related to sexual harassment allegations.
University spokesperson John Beckman confirmed that Robinson has been put on administrative leave and said that no students were involved in any “concerns” in an email statement to WSN.
“The University acknowledges that it has put its Athletics director on administrative leave while it undertakes a review of some issues that have arisen. None of the concerns that have emerged involved students,” Beckman wrote. “In the interim, the Senior Vice President for University Life will directly oversee the running of the Athletics Department.”
Beckman also said the department does not anticipate Robinson’s absence will affect practices, competitions or recreational programming in the department.
Three anonymous sources told WSN that they believe the incidents that led to Robinson’s suspension involved sexual misconduct and verbal assault against a member of the department’s staff.
Prior to teaching at NYU, Robinson spent 28 years at the State University of New York New Paltz, where he served as the Director of Athletics, Wellness & Recreation beginning in 2001. He also served as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Committee on Infractions from 2010 to 2011, according to an NCAA spokesperson.
Robinson did not respond to multiple emailed requests for comment.
Beckman wrote that Athletics Department employees and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which serves as a point of connection between administrators and student athletes, have been notified of Robinson’s absence, but did not provide an estimated date for his return.
Update, Sept. 19: This article has been updated with information from an NCAA spokesperson.
If you have any information about this story, contact us at [email protected] or reach Ania Keenan at [email protected].
Contact Ania Keenan at [email protected].
