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Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Northwestern hazing scandal

News coverage and commentary on the Northwestern University hazing scandal that led to the firing of longtime football coach Pat Fitzgerald.

Ryan Field
Northwestern hazing scandal
Northwestern hazing scandal lawsuits are consolidated
Seven lawsuits filed by former football players will be temporarily consolidated with a lawsuit filed by former head coach Pat Fitzgerald during the pretrial process.
By Kade Heather
 
Noah Herron, who played football for Northwestern University, speaks during a press conference at the Salvi, Schostok and Pritchard office in the Loop, where he and another former football player spoke about alleged racial discrimination, which included having to cut their hair to conform and prevent retaliation, during their time playing on the team.
Northwestern hazing scandal
Former Northwestern football captains share experiences of racism, being forced to conform to the ‘Wildcat Way’
“Coaches, trainers and staff told us that we needed to change the way we dressed, acted and styled our hair,” former player Rico Lamitte said Friday.
By Sophie Sherry
 
A rendering of the proposed new Ryan Field in Evanston. The $800 million project has met with opposition from community members.
Business
Northwestern plan for Ryan Field concerts rejected
Evanston’s land use commission OK’d a new $800 million football stadium but rejected a request for concerts, similar events.
By David Roeder
 
Former Northwestern football player Ramon Diaz.
College Sports
Former Northwestern lineman Ramon Diaz turns pain into gain
Diaz, who is accusing the school of enabling the alleged racial and sexual abuse he endured on the team in the 2000s, has become an advocate for student-athletes.
By Lisa Philip | WBEZ
 
Attorney Dan Webb
Northwestern hazing scandal
Fired Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald sues school for $130 million
Fitzgerald claims his alma mater wrongfully fired him in the wake of a hazing and abuse scandal that has engulfed the NU athletic department.
By Steve Greenberg
 
Northwestern interim head coach David Braun
Northwestern hazing scandal
Northwestern interim coach David Braun has a funny way of showing ‘transparency’
Six days before the Wildcats’ opener at Rutgers, Braun explained — poorly — that he was taking the completely unusual step of barring players from interviews during a game week.
By Steve Greenberg
 
Northwestern football helmets.
Northwestern hazing scandal
Former Northwestern athletes condemn hazing, defend university
More than 1,000 former Wildcats athletes signed an open letter.
By Associated Press
 
Former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald talks to reporters during news conference in 2022.
High School Football
Former Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald is a volunteer assistant at Loyola Academy this season
Ryan Fitzgerald, a junior, will be the Ramblers’ starting quarterback this season.
By Michael O’Brien
 
Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald looking on during a 2022 game against Ohio State in Evanston.
Northwestern hazing scandal
On ‘team culture,’ motivational T-shirts and hazing: Does anyone have an original thought in sports?
There’s too much groupthink and mimicry, as the Northwestern scandal shows.
By Rick Morrissey
 
Chris Beacom, former director of baseball operations at Northwestern University, speaks during a news conference in the Loop to discuss a retaliatory discharge lawsuit filed against the university, Monday, Aug. 14, 2023.
Northwestern hazing scandal
3 former Northwestern baseball staffers sue the university
Former assistant coaches Dusty Napoleon and Jon Strauss and former baseball operations director Chris Beacom say they blew the whistle on former coach Jim Foster’s alleged bullying in November 2022.
By David Struett
 
The Northwestern University arch.
Northwestern hazing scandal
Northwestern University failed to protect women’s lacrosse player from sexual assault, lawsuit alleges
The lawsuit, filed by a student identified as Jane Doe, also alleges the school failed to carry out a thorough investigation after she reported the July 2022 attack.
By Emmanuel Camarillo
 
Some members of the Northwestern football program wore shirts bearing the message “Cats Against the World.”
Northwestern hazing scandal
Northwestern football staff raises ire with ‘offensive’ and ‘tone-deaf’ shirts
Several Wildcats players and coaches were spotted wearing shirts bearing the message “Cats Against the World” and the number 51. Fired coach Pat Fitzgerald wore No. 51 as an NU player in the 1990s.
By Gene Farris
 
In this Sept. 2, 2017, file photo, Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald stands near the sideline during the second half of the team’s NCAA college football game against Nevada.
Columnists
If colleges won’t confront problem of abuse against student athletes, Congress must step in
Northwestern’s hazing scandal is just one example among many. If coaches and university officials cannot be trusted to protect vulnerable young athletes, lawmakers in Washington must do so.
By Marc H. Morial
 
merlin_115004929.jpg
La Voz Chicago
Exjugador mexicano de fútbol americano estudiantil demanda a Universidad Northwestern por burlas racistas
Un portavoz de Northwestern dijo que la escuela está comprometida a abordar los problemas relacionados con el hazing.
By David Struett
 
Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti speaking to reporters during a conference media gathering July 26.
College Sports
What Big Ten expansion isn’t about: Cultural fit, shared values or even football
The conference realignment going on across the country has everything to do with TV money — gobs of it.
By Rick Morrissey
 
Dan K. Webb.
Columnists
Dan Webb on Northwestern hiring Loretta Lynch in hazing investigation: ‘a total waste of the university’s financial resources’
The former U.S. attorney, representing fired football Coach Pat Fitzgerald, says firing him violated his employment contract and his deal for a two-week suspension.
By Michael Sneed
 
Hersey two-way standout Carson Grove has committed to Northwestern, where he’ll play wide receiver.
High School Football
Hersey senior Carson Grove commits to Northwestern
The senior athlete from Hersey committed to Northwestern on Monday, a milestone in interim coach David Braun’s efforts to bring some stability to the troubled program.
By Mike Clark
 
Northwestern University.
Northwestern hazing scandal
Black Northwestern players forced into watermelon-eating contests, new hazing lawsuit alleges
One lawsuit also alleges the former Northwestern University football player had his Afro cut off by upperclassmen players at the team’s camp in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
By David Struett
 
Former Northwestern football player Ramon Diaz speaks during a press conference on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023 at the Salvi, Schostok and Pritchard law office in Chicago.
Northwestern hazing scandal
Racist Northwestern hazing included shaving words ‘Cinco de Mayo’ on head, former football player says
The experience led Ramon Diaz, now 36, to try to kill himself by overdosing on painkillers in 2006. “My experience playing football at Northwestern University haunts me to this day,” Diaz told reporters Wednesday.
By David Struett
 
Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch speaks during a press conference at the Dirksen Federal Building, Jan. 13, 2017.
Northwestern hazing scandal
Northwestern hires former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to review how it reports hazing
Lynch will make her findings public after examining the university’s accountability mechanisms, the university announced Tuesday.
By David Struett
 
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