TORONTO– Northwestern is one of the most prestigious academic universities in the country. But no one, it seems, is immune to scandal in college sports these days.
Pat Fitzgerald, the Wildcats’ highly decorated football coach who had been with the Evanston school for 17 years, was dismissed earlier this week after an investigation into widespread hazing within the program that alleges, he should have known about the abuse.
Fitzgerald was originally suspended for two weeks after initial reports that was started in January and conducted by an outside law firm did not find sufficient.
evidence the staff knew about the ongoing hazing– though there was sufficient opportunities to find out about it.
But the Daily Northwestern– the student paper– took the scandal to another level when it published a letter from a former player and whistle blower who described specific instances of hazing and sexual abuse which led second year president David Shill to reverse course. And write an open letter to the university community that said he may have erred in weighing the proper sanctions, focusing too much on what Fitzgerlad didn’t now and not enough on what he should have known.
On a day when the New York Times disbanded its 35-person sports department, a student paper become a hero in investigative journalism.
Nobody involved particularly the law firm or the naive president whose made the initial decision by himself– looks good here.
As for Fitzgerald, he claims he was blindsided without an prior notification and has referred the matter to his attorney. He then addressed the team, accompanied by his wife and three sons, Many players supported him, praising his character and a letter purporting representing the entire team that called the accounts exaggerated and twisted and claimed Fitzgerald knew nothing about his. Fitzgerald has significant political clout on this campus and it appears obvious the administration thought it could sneak in a two-week penalty and the whole thing would go away with nobody noticing.
Surprise.
Shill wrote in his letter that, during the investigation, 11 current and former players acknowledged hazing within the program that included forced participation, nudity and sexualized acts of a degrading nature in clear violation of Northwestern policies and values.
The former player whose allegation forced the president’s hand told ESPN it has always been about safety of student athletes.
Fitzgerald was a lifer at Northwestern, an All-American linebacker, an assistant for five years and a head coach who coached the Cats to a 110-101 record, leading them to five 10-win seasons and five bowl victories.
But his tenure unwound after a former player, who transferred, told ESPN the hazing was organized and systematic and led by a group of older players known as “The Shrek gang that would lead the activity called running, usually against freshmen or younger players who made mistakes in practice. Older players wearing masks would restrain a victim in a dark locker room and engage in sexualized behavior including dry humping and naked drills like bear crawling, and quarterback- center exchanges. Not exactly team bonding.
Wait, it gets worse. The DN reported black players were encouraged to cut their hair instead of wearing dreads to fit into the Northwestern culture, something that never happened to white players with long hair.
The former player claimed Fitzgerald would designate players to be added to the Shrek’s list with special clapping motion during practice. He said he saw Fitzgerald do it at least five times during the 2020 season. He spoke to Shill about his personal experiences Sunday.
Shill claimed he was in the dark and said hazing with well-known by many in the program and he took action after learning the details, which were largely supported by evidence.
Fitzgerald was in the second year of a 10-year $57 million contract. If he had coached this year, he would have become the fifth longest tenured coach in FBS football. He will be replaced by defensive coordinator David Braun, who will inherit a team that is coming off an uncharacteristic 1-11 season and will open the year against Rutgers Sept. 3.
