NCAA: Sexual hazing accusations at Northwestern

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Former NU football player details hazing allegations

Content warning: This article contains mention of hazing, sexual assault and suicidal ideation. A former Northwestern University football player told The Daily some of the hazing conduct investigated by the university involved coerced sexual acts. A second player confirmed these details. The...

dailynorthwestern.com

A former Northwestern University football player told The Daily some of the hazing conduct investigated by the university involved coerced sexual acts. A second player confirmed these details.

The player also told The Daily that head coach Pat Fitzgerald may have known that hazing took place.

“I’ve seen it with my own eyes, and it’s just absolutely egregious and vile and inhumane behavior,” the player, who asked to remain anonymous in this story, said.

The former player said he reported his experiences to the University in late November 2022. He alleges that much of the team’s hazing centered around a practice dubbed “running,” which was used to punish team members, primarily freshman, for mistakes made on the field and in practice.

If a player was selected for “running,” the player who spoke to The Daily said, they would be restrained by a group of 8-10 upperclassmen dressed in various “Purge-like” masks, who would then begin “dry-humping” the victim in a dark locker room.

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[Jovavic]

Some young male jocks are human trash, more at 11

Hazing transcends time, sports, sexes, everything, "I've suffered this in the past, now you must too to be one of us. It's the code."

 

[John Price]

 

[John Price]

Ex-player calls for Fitzgerald ouster after inquiry

A former Northwestern football player on Sunday detailed his hazing allegations that sparked a university-commissioned investigation and said Pat Fitzgerald should no longer be the coach of the program.

www.espn.com

A current Northwestern player, who asked to remain anonymous, also told ESPN on Sunday that the former player, whose hazing allegations late in 2022 launched the investigation, informed him of a detailed plan with the sole objective to take down Fitzgerald. The current player on Sunday relayed a conversation he said he had early this year with the former player to Northwestern trustees and other influential university figures.

"He just kept emphasizing, 'Yeah, it'll be OK. I'm just trying to get Coach Fitz fired,'" the current player told ESPN. "I don't think he ever acknowledged what he's saying is not true. It was just like, 'I might embellish or exaggerate to get Coach Fitz fired.' He said his sole goal was to see Coach Fitz rot in jail.

"The truth is none of that stuff happened in our locker room."

 

[GKJ]

Once the school backtracked you knew this was coming.

 

[StreetHawk]

Once the school backtracked you knew this was coming.

Have they completed their investigation so far? This decision seems rushed. I get that these are serious allegations, but a full investigation should be done before any decision is made. Even if they have to extend the suspension by another 2-6 weeks, so be it.

 

[GKJ]

Have they completed their investigation so far? This decision seems rushed. I get that these are serious allegations, but a full investigation should be done before any decision is made. Even if they have to extend the suspension by another 2-6 weeks, so be it.

Here’s the thing: their own student paper is who broke the story. If you’re going to call to question the credibility of your own students, especially one where the quality of the journalism departments at Northwestern is so important, you better be air tight. If you’re wrong or covering up, you’re going down too, and that school’s athletic department just isn’t important enough for people like the president of the school or provost to get dragged into this.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Yeah, their option is to either stand by their football program or stand by their journalism school, and Northwestern is likely the only power five institution where the journalism school is the bigger business.

But there are already a lot of pissed off northwestern journalists nationwide with how the university handled this in initially downplaying the student newspaper. I’m inclined to think that their paper’s got the credentials to give their reporting the benefit of the doubt.

 

[John Price]

he had to go. that said the player defense of him was rather shocking and intriguing.

 

[John Price]

 

[Babe Ruth]

Here’s the thing: their own student paper is who broke the story. If you’re going to call to question the credibility of your own students, especially one where the quality of the journalism departments at Northwestern is so important, you better be air tight.

If you’re wrong or covering up, you’re going down too..

It may be the school paper who initiated this scrutiny.. but it was a law firm (hired by Northwestern) that conducted the relevant investigation. It would be irresponsible/unfair to terminate a school employee without the employer doing their own look in to allegations. So I don't think the termination was done as a confirmation that they unconditionally trust their student paper.

Somewhat ironically, the hired law firm stated there was "not specific evidence" indicating that Fitzgerald knew about hazing acts. So even tho Fitzgerald was given the fair professional courtesy of further investigation.. the firing leads me to confirm your post's final take. Fitzgerald's complicity/guilt doesn't really matter to the school, it's Northwestern's perceived reputation that is at stake.. Fitzgerald was going to be fired, before this becomes too embarrassing or appears like a cover-up.
It does surprise me how at-will head coaching jobs are.. I guess when guys get these huge termination buy-outs, they don't care too much about the ethics of their termination(s).. but I guess we'll see how Fitzgerald (& Northwestern) responds in legal terms if he doesn't get paid.

 

[GKJ]

Northwestern fired their baseball coach too after there was abusive claims out against him, so they appear done messing around.

 

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Northwestern University fires another athletics coach after probe

Northwestern baseball coach Jim Foster was fired Thursday amid allegations of misconduct, three days after football coach Pat Fitzgerald was dismissed because of a hazing scandal.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[StreetHawk]

It may be the school paper who initiated this scrutiny.. but it was a law firm (hired by Northwestern) that conducted the relevant investigation. It would be irresponsible/unfair to terminate a school employee without the employer doing their own look in to allegations. So I don't think the termination was done as a confirmation that they unconditionally trust their student paper.

Somewhat ironically, the hired law firm stated there was "not specific evidence" indicating that Fitzgerald knew about hazing acts. So even tho Fitzgerald was given the fair professional courtesy of further investigation.. the firing leads me to confirm your post's final take. Fitzgerald's complicity/guilt doesn't really matter to the school, it's Northwestern's perceived reputation that is at stake.. Fitzgerald was going to be fired, before this becomes too embarrassing or appears like a cover-up.
It does surprise me how at-will head coaching jobs are.. I guess when guys get these huge termination buy-outs, they don't care too much about the ethics of their termination(s).. but I guess we'll see how Fitzgerald (& Northwestern) responds in legal terms if he doesn't get paid.

Going to depend on the language of his contract. HC is the top person. He delegates responsibilities to his coaching staff. He's not going to know what is going on with each player, but he's relying on the position coaches to know about their 10-15 players. Be it the OL, DL, secondary, WRs, etc.
And then keep him up to date.

But, this hazing doesn't appear to only be for 1 position group. If it is multiple position groups, then it's something that has permeated the entire program and coaches either should have known/heard about it or they tolerated it.