Ex-Northwestern ADs among those dropped from hazing lawsuits

Several individual defendants, including former athletic director and current ACC commissioner Jim Phillips and university president Michael Schill, have been dismissed from hazing lawsuits filed by former Northwestern athletes, according to court documents reviewed by ESPN.

Phillips and Schill were named as defendants in a group of lawsuits brought by the former athletes, as were former athletic director Derrick Gragg, who now serves as the school's vice president for athletic strategy; former university president Morton Schapiro; and the school's board of trustees, among others.

The university and former football coach Pat Fitzgerald remain as defendants.

In August, Phillips, Schill, Schapiro, Gragg and the board were voluntarily dismissed from 15 cases filed by former football players under the John Doe designation. In September, Phillips, former strength and conditioning coach Jay Hooten, current strength and conditioning coach Alex Spanos and the board of trustees were voluntarily dismissed from cases filed by John Does. A separate group of cases dismissed former university president Henry Bienen, former athletic director Mark Murphy and the board as individual defendants.

Also, a lawsuit filed by former Northwestern football player Ramon Diaz, who alleged racial mistreatment and other hazing incidents, was voluntarily dismissed in June.

Fitzgerald, fired in July 2023, is suing the university for wrongful termination, seeking $130 million in damages. He has denied having any knowledge of alleged hazing activities inside the program.

In April, a judge announced that the hazing cases and Fitzgerald's claim will be heard together. A trial date for Fitzgerald's lawsuit is set for April 2025.

The defendant dismissals stem from cases filed by two Chicago-based firms, Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard and Romanucci & Blandin. Attorneys representing the individual defendants had filed motions to dismiss, based in part on there being no specific allegations against their clients.

A spokeswoman for Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard declined to comment on the reason for the defendant dismissals. Romanucci & Blandin did not respond to ESPN following repeated requests for comment.

Another batch of lawsuits from former Northwestern football players, filed by the Chicago-based Levin & Perconti firm, mostly named only Northwestern as a defendant, although three cases also included Fitzgerald. Those cases are proceeding.

Northwestern did not comment on the individual defendant dismissals.

Phillips did not comment but said in a 2023 statement that "hazing is completely unacceptable" and that "any allegation that I ever condoned or tolerated inappropriate conduct against student-athletes is absolutely false. I will vigorously defend myself against any suggestion to the contrary."

Schill has acknowledged that hazing occurred at Northwestern, which commissioned former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to conduct a review of how the athletic department detects and reports potential hazing or other misconduct. Lynch and her investigators released a report in June recommending that Northwestern enhance its hazing prevention training.