Northwestern will launch two separate, external reviews into its athletic department in the aftermath of investigations that led the university to fire football coach Pat Fitzgerald and baseball coach Jim Foster, it announced Tuesday.
Northwestern president Michael Schill said in a letter to the university community that the reviews were a matter of accountability, and the results of both will be made public.
One review will focus on the university’s “ability to detect threats to the welfare of student-athletes,” while the other will center on the culture of the athletic department as a whole.
“I write to you today to give you my commitment that I will continue to do whatever is necessary to address this situation and ensure that our athletic program remains one you can be proud of and one that is fully aligned with and reflects our values,” Schill wrote in part. “Equally important, I give you my commitment that we will redouble our efforts to safeguard the welfare of each and every student-athlete at Northwestern.”
At least one lawsuit has been filed against the university, Schill, Fitzgerald and other Northwestern trustees alleging they were negligent in letting a culture of hazing fester in the football program.
A growing group of 12 former players have retained attorney Ben Crump to pursue legal action. According to ESPN, news conferences with Crump and other attorneys working the case are scheduled for Wednesday morning in Chicago.
Fitzgerald’s attorney, Dan Webb, released a statement Tuesday evening addressing the ex-coach being named in a John Doe complaint.
“Instead of making actual detailed factual allegations about Coach Fitzgerald’s conduct, the complaint makes a variety of broad-based and sweeping allegations ‘upon information and belief,’ without citing any specific facts or evidence,” Webb wrote in part.
“Nothing in the John Doe complaint comes close to contradicting the conclusions of the months-long investigation led by Attorney Maggie Hickey — that Coach Fitzgerald had no knowledge whatsoever of any form of hazing within the Northwestern Football Program.”
Fitzgerald was fired for cause July 10 after initially being suspended for two weeks without pay. Fitzgerald is also mulling legal action against the school for breach of contract.
In announcing Fitzgerald’s termination, Schill said players were exposed to “forced participation, nudity and sexualized acts of a degrading nature, in clear violation of Northwestern policies and values.”
–Field Level Media
