Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald was suspended for two weeks on Friday following a lengthy hazing investigation, and new allegations that surfaced could lead to harsher disciplinary action.
Northwestern launched an investigation in January after an anonymous whistleblower alleged that hazing took place in the Wildcats’ locker room and at “Camp Kenosha,” where Northwestern had spent about a week of the preseason until 2020. The investigation found that one claim from the whistleblower was supported.
“The investigation did not uncover evidence pointing to specific misconduct by any individual football player or coach, participation in or knowledge of the hazing activities was widespread across football players,” the summary read, via ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg.
Over the weekend, an anonymous former Northwestern football player spoke with the school’s newspaper, The Daily Northwestern, and shared new details of the alleged hazing that took place. The player, who described the hazing as “absolutely egregious and vile,” said the behavior involved coerced sexual acts and that Fitzgerald may have encouraged it.
The player described one practice that the team calls “running,” in which players — primarily freshman — are punished for mistakes during practices and games. The player claimed the subject of the hazing act would be restrained by a group of 8-10 upperclassmen who would then begin “dry-humping” the player in a dark locker room.
“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 player told The Daily. “It’s just a really abrasive and barbaric culture that has permeated throughout that program for years on end now.”
The player also claimed Northwestern players identified a teammate for “running” by clapping their hands around their heads above the soon-to-be victim. The player said he saw Fitzgerald make the signal during practices when players made mistakes, which the whistleblower believes was Fitzgerald’s way of knowingly encouraging the behavior.
“Everyone would just be looking at each other and be like ‘bro, Fitz knows about this,’ because you wouldn’t take that action otherwise,” the player said. “Everyone joins in, because he’s the head coach.”
A second anonymous player said he also witnessed the hazing and Fitzgerald’s supposed participation.
Other acts outlined by the whistleblower included an annual tradition called “the carwash,” in which players were forced to stand naked at the entrance to the showers and spin around. Those entering the showers would then have to “basically (rub) up against a bare-naked man.” The players who entered would then be sprayed with a hose, which the whistleblower described as “extremely painful.”
The anonymous player also said there was a practice called “Gatorade shake challenges,” in which players were forced to drink as many Gatorade shakes as they could in 10 minutes. There were also alleged instances where two naked freshmen were forced to take part in a quarterback-center snap exchange.
Following the new allegations, Northwestern president Michael Schill said in a letter said in a letter to the university community that he “may have erred in weighing the appropriate sanction” for Fitzgerald. Schill is planning to speak with university officials about new disciplinary action for the longtime coach.
Fitzgerald has been the head coach at Northwestern since 2006. He has an overall record of 110-101 and has led the Wildcats to five bowl wins. The 48-year-old has received some interest for NFL jobs over the years.
