The legacy of the long-time Northwestern University head coach is in jeopardy.
On Friday, the university announced a two-week suspension for Pat Fitzgerald after the results of a six-month outside investigation into hazing were brought to light. In the release, the university stated that there was no evidence that the coaching staff knew of the hazing allegations.
The complete findings of investigator Maggie Hickey were not made public, but detailed that the hazing activities occurred in the Northwestern locker rooms and may have begun at the program’s preseason training site Camp Kenosha. In addition to the suspension of Fitzgerald, the team is now barred from practices at Camp Kenosha and the university will place a monitor inside the locker room that doesn’t report to the football team.
Handled and done, right?
Wrong.
The Daily Northwestern, the student newspaper at Northwestern, released an explosive report Saturday with the account of a former player who may have been privy to or a victim of the hazing activities. The player, who’s reports were verified by another, detailed the practice known as ‘running’ in which freshman players were the chief targets of hazing for mistakes made in practice or on-field. The actions involved being restrained by up to 10 upper classmen wearing masks in a dark locker room and dry humped as an act of embarrassment. While Hickey’s investigation found the coaching staff unknowing in the practice, they had opportunities to discuss it. The player refuted the claim the staff didn’t know, stating that Fitzgerald would give signals when he thought players needed to be disciplined.
The story continued Saturday, with the Northwestern football team releasing a joint statement (via ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg).
Statement from Northwestern’s entire team pushing back against the allegations of hazing, which they call “exaggerated and twisted.” They also say coach Pat Fitzgerald had no knowledge or involvement in the allegations. pic.twitter.com/lMOAgCe0EB
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) July 9, 2023
Signed by the “ENTIRE” team, the statement states that “… we do not tolerate hazing in any form. Hazing goes against our values of respect, integrity, and personal growth.” The next paragraph says that the allegations are “exaggerated and twisted.” In defense of their coach in the fifth paragraph, the statement seems to contradict the previous messages by stating that Fitzgerald had no involvement or knowledge of the incidents — essentially confirming that some level of hazing did take place.
Numerous current and former players as well as members of the coaching staff have since retweeted the statement and defended Pat Fitzgerald.
Late Saturday night, an update went out from Northwestern University President Michael Schill where he admitted he may have erred in the initial two-week suspension handed down to Fitzgerald.
“In determining an appropriate penalty for the head coach, I focused too much on what the report concluded he didn’t know and not enough on what he should have known.”
Schill also revealed that he had spoke to the family of the anonymous player.
“Due to the confidential nature of the investigation, I just learned the name of the young man who first reported the allegations. I spoke with his family and offered my sincere apologies for what their son had to endure, and I also attempted to reach out to the young man himself to offer my apologies. I was moved by what I heard from his family and by the impact the hazing had on their son. In the days ahead, I will engage with University leadership, including the Board of Trustees as well as the leadership of the Faculty Senate, and will keep you abreast of any developments as I assess future steps.”
In the early afternoon on Sunday, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg provided another update via Twitter. He said that the former player sent a photo of a whiteboard that was in the Wildcats locker room. The image is headlined as “Shrek’s List” and features the names of players and bulleted items “including ‘naked slingshot’ and ‘naked bear crawls.'”
That was the last update at the time of this writing.
Northwestern is coming of an abysmal 2022 campaign where the Wildcats went 1-11, their lone win coming against Nebraska in Dublin, Ireland. Before Friday, Fitzgerald’s seat may have been lukewarm if not cool. Now, it’s actively burning.
Fitzgerald has finished 17 seasons as head coach at Northwestern and is their all-time wins leader with a 110-101 record despite a 65-76 Big Ten record. He is 5-5 in bowl games as coach and has won two B1G West Division titles (2018 and 2020). At the moment, his suspension is due to expire just days before the Big Ten Football Media Days on July 26-27 in Indianapolis.
His legacy may come crumbling down, and fast.
The next few days will be telling. If Northwestern finds that Fitzgerald knew about or even encouraged the hazing activities, the best case scenario for the coach and those rushing to his defense is a lengthy increase of his suspension and a fine — perhaps even vacating those Big Ten Division titles. The most likely scenario, however, is that Schill and the administration will terminate Fitzgerald’s contract, effectively ending his head coaching career (for now).
