The football season is still two months away, but a firestorm is brewing in Evanston. University officials admitted that longtime coach Pat Fitzgerald may be deserving of further punishment above and beyond the two week off-season suspension issued Friday following a six-month investigation into hazing practices within the team.
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"I may have erred in weighing the appropriate sanction. 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," said University President Michael Schill.
Michael Levine, an attorney with Stewart Tilghman, Fox Bianchi & Cain weighed in.
"I think that's a gross understatement. These are really seriously allegations. Northwestern has a ton of exposure as far as civil liability from lawsuits from current and former players," Levine said.
The about-face came hours after the university's student-run newspaper ran an interview with a former player, who described in agonizing detail sexualized hazing practices he said routinely take place inside the locker room. One common practice, called "running," involved a younger player being restrained while eight to 10 older players engaged in a sexualized act in the locker room. Versions of "running" took place during certain portions of the year, including Thanksgiving and Christmas.
"It's a shocking experience as a freshman to see your fellow freshman teammates get ran, but then you see everybody bystanding in the locker room," the former player told The Daily Northwestern. "It's just a really abrasive and barbaric culture that has permeated throughout that program for years on end now."
According to the newspaper, the former player reported his claims to the school in late 2022, and he spoke to investigators during the university-commissioned probe, whose findings were released Friday.
ABC7 spoke with ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, who interviewed some of those players. On Sunday night, he shared new information on what allegedly went took place behind locker room doors.
"Some might have seen it as fun, others were uncomfortable. There's that fine line between team building, team bonding and then outright hazing," Rittenberg said.
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Northwestern cited an "anonymous whistleblower" in its executive report of the investigation. Rittenberg spoke with that whistleblower.
"He detailed, you know, what he believes was widespread hazing that went on during his career at Northwestern," Rittenberg said. "There were other incidents, you know, whether it was how many Gatorade shakes you could drink in 10 minutes. There were other naked incidents that happened in the locker room, according to this whistleblower."
Rittenberg, calling the timing of the Schill's announcement into question.
"They knew all this information, and yet, they're walking back their initial penalty," Rittenberg said.
Former longtime Chicago Tribune sportswriter Fred Mitchell said the investigation, so far, could have a wider-reaching impact.
"This will put all schools across the country on notice, not just football programs, at all athletic programs on notice to make sure there are circumstances in place to protect the players safety, protect the possibility of hazing," Mitchell said.
The school said the hazing claims could be "largely supported" and that "there had been significant opportunities to discover and report" what had happened, but investigators did not find enough evidence to prove coaches knew about the activities. Investigators also received varied perspectives on the conduct following interviews with current and former players.
Levine said the university had to know about the allegations.
"There is no way Northwestern did not know these very specific allegations. The attorney running the investigation, Maggie Hickey, she performed 50 or more interviews. They reviewed hundreds, if not thousands of emails and other documents," Levine said. "The only reason we are seeing any kind of reconsideration by the university is they don't like the attention they're getting now.
As for the whistleblower, Rittenberg said the reason they are speaking out now is to make sure this doesn't happen again.
"The person told me, 'my objective one of my objective my objectives is for Pat Fitzgerald to no longer coach in this program. But, I have larger objectives to prevent any of this from happening in the future to other players,'" Rittenberg said.
Meanwhile, members of the Northwestern football team hit back. In a statement sent to ESPN from the Northwestern football team Saturday night, the players denounced hazing, while pronouncing their support for Fitzgerald and his "unwavering commitment to our team."
"We want to reiterate that as representatives of the Northwestern Football program, we do not tolerate hazing in any form," the statement read. "Hazing goes against our values of respect, integrity, and personal growth. We are committed to fostering a supportive and inclusive environment that promotes the well-being and development of every individual on our team."
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The statement also labeled the allegations as "exaggerated and twisted."
"It is disheartening to see that the allegations brought forth against our team have been exaggerated and twisted into lies. These fabrications have been made with the intention of harming our program and tarnish the reputation of our dedicated players and coaching staff," the statement added. "We firmly deny the validity of these accusations and stand united in our assertion that they do not reflect the true character of our team."
Schill said he will speak to the board of trustees and other leaders to determine a new penalty for Fitzgerald, who has led the team since 2006.
ESPN contributed to this report.