Hazing allegations recently investigated within Northwestern's football program involved coerced sexual acts, according to a Saturday afternoon report from Nicole Markus, Alyce Brown, Cole Reynolds and Divya Bhardwaj of the university’s newspaper, The Daily Northwestern.
The investigation resulted in Wildcats coach Pat Fitzgerald receiving a two-week suspension on Friday. Investigators concluded that while they could not prove Fitzgerald was aware of hazing within the program, allegations made by a whistleblower were “largely supported by evidence.”
The Daily Northwestern’s report included graphic details of the alleged hazing corroborated by two former players, as well as mention of photographic evidence of whiteboard lists that appeared to reference the hazing acts.
One of the anonymous players interviewed stated that members of the team would engage in a locker-room practice called “running,” which entailed masked upperclassmen “dry-humping” players to punish them for mistakes.
He went on to characterize Northwestern as having an “abrasive and barbaric culture that has permeated throughout that program for years on end now,” and suggested that Fitzgerald made a hand signal in practice similar to that used by players to single out players for “running” in-game, which he believes indicated that the coach was aware of the hazing within the program.
“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 unnamed player told The Daily Northwestern. “Everyone joins in, because he’s the head coach.”
Other practices described include “freshmen [being] forced to strip naked and perform various acts, including bear crawling and slingshotting themselves across the floor with exercise bands,” as well as a tradition called the “carwash” that entailed players being forced to rub up against other players while nude in order to enter the showers.
The university declined comment Saturday to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg, referring back to the findings of the investigation.
Just received this response from Northwestern, which will not comment about details beyond what was included in Friday’s report. pic.twitter.com/KHG4uP1onC
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) July 8, 2023
At 110–101, Fitzgerald—who has served as the program’s leader since 2006—is the winningest coach in Wildcats history.
