Northwestern has been accused of being tone deaf as more accusations arise in the school’s hazing scandal.
Their choice of gear won’t help matters.
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 when he played for Northwestern in the 1990s.
When asked about the shirts, interim head coach David Braun said, “It certainly isn’t my business to censor anyone’s free speech.” He added that his sole focus is supporting the current players and staff members.
A clear shot of the "Cats Against the World" shirt that some Northwestern coaches/staff members were wearing at practice, with Pat Fitzgerald's old jersey #51 on them (as @Bradley_Locker first noted)@cbschicago pic.twitter.com/3fvnc0GEND
— Matt Zahn (@mattzahnsports) August 9, 2023
“[Braun], he’s been preaching that we should stick together, especially during a time like this,” wide receiver Bryce Kirtz told ESPN. “The shirts are really a reminder, allowing us to stick together.”
“We’re not addressing any past hazing allegations,” linebacker Bryce Gallagher told ESPN. “What I can tell you is right now we have a great culture in our locker room, and the guys are really sticking together through all this. The older guys are really just focused on helping these younger guys out, helping each other get through this, and just leaning on our relationships.”
The shirts didn’t go over well with athletic director Derrick Gragg.
“I am extremely disappointed that a few members of our football program staff decided to wear “Cats Against the World” t-shirts,” Gragg said in a statement. “Neither I nor the University was aware that they owned or would wear these shirts today. The shirts are inappropriate, offensive and tone deaf. Let me be crystal clear: hazing has no place at Northwestern, and we are committed to do whatever is necessary to address hazing-related issues, including thoroughly investigating any incidents or allegations of hazing or any other misconduct.”
Northwestern athletic director Derrick Gragg releases a statement expressing disappointment in the “tone deaf” T-shirts worn by coaches at today’s practice. pic.twitter.com/A6Rrc4FcrU
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) August 9, 2023
The shirts come after Gragg announced last month that the school will institute mandatory anti-hazing seminars for all sports teams.
“After everything that’s happened, it’s outrageous that Northwestern University and its football program are still not taking this seriously,” attorney Steve Levin told USA Today Sports. Levin, along with civil rights attorney Ben Crump, has filed lawsuits on behalf of eight former Northwestern football players.
Several former Northwestern athletes have said they were victims of hazing while at the school. The university is currently facing several lawsuits related to the hazing allegations. Fitzgerald has said he was unaware of any hazing in the football program.
Attorney Parker Stinar, who said he is representing more than 30 former players with the law firm Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C., reacted to the shirts.
“Many of our clients have tremendous pride in playing football at Northwestern with love and respect for their former teammates,” Stinar said in a statement to USA Today Sports. “However, that pride does not discount nor neglect the harms they suffered due to the institutional failures by Northwestern which tolerated and enabled a culture of racism, bigotry, sexualized and other forms of hazing. The shirts should read “Survivors vs the World”, standing with those harms rather than those responsible.”
NU has hired former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to review the school’s abuse reporting mechanisms.
Northwestern opens the football season on Sept. 3 at Big Ten foe Rutgers.
