Northwestern Sued For ‘Systemic’ Hazing And Harassment On Football Team

A former Northwestern University football player sued university officials and now-fired head coach Pat Fitzgerald for allegedly widespread hazing on Tuesday, the first lawsuit stemming from a hazing scandal that caused Fitzgerald to be ousted earlier this month.The lawsuit—filed Tuesday by attorneys Patrick Salvi and Parker Stinar on behalf of an unnamed former football player—alleges Fitzgerald “took part in the harassment, hazing, bullying, assault” and “abuse of athletes” .

The lawsuit also accuses President Michael Schill, former President Morton Schapiro, athletic director Derrick Gragg and the board of trustees of “ongoing complicity and involvement in the systemic abuse” of student-athletes. Fitzgerald allegedly “forced players of color” to cut their hair to meet “Wildcat Way” standards while enabling a “culture of racism” within the program, as members of the football team watched as Fitzgerald “harassed, hazed, bullied, assaulted and abused” other athletes, including the former football player, the lawsuit says.

Other team hazing rituals detailed in the lawsuit include “the carwash,” where players allegedly sprayed freshmen with water as they walked through a “tunnel of naked men,” and the “Gatorade shake challenge,” which allegedly required players to drink as many Gatorade shakes as possible in 10 minutes.

The former football player, who attended Northwestern between 2018 and 2022, will seek damages in excess of $50,000 in addition to attorney fees.Monday they would soon file separate lawsuits against the university, indicating they had “uncovered a vast array of incidents of abuse” in the football program and consulted with “dozens of victims” of hazing. Athletes from other sports programs are expected to file similar lawsuits against the university, according to Levin & Perconti.

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