A third former football player at Northwestern University has filed a lawsuit alleging the school fostered a culture of hazing and abuse.
The former player, identified as John Doe 3, filed the suit in Cook County through his attorney Patrick Salvi Jr.
Salvi filed two other lawsuits this week related to the hazing scandal unfolding at the Evanston-based school. They are the only known lawsuits filed against the university in connection with the allegations. Over a dozen other former players said they have retained lawyers.
“Our clients are coming forward with their stories now because they want to see institutional change so future generations don’t have to suffer what they experienced,” Salvi said in a statement. “We are likely just scratching the surface as to how widespread this misconduct was throughout Northwestern’s athletic department.”
The new lawsuit doesn’t detail new allegations of abuse. John Doe 3 was a student athlete at the university from 2018 until last year, similar to the first two other plaintiffs.
The lawsuits allege that university leaders knowingly allowed a culture of hazing that involved sexual abuse and racism. The abuse allegedly included dry humping in the locker room; forcing underclassmen to bear crawl naked; pressuring Black players to change their hairstyles; and forcing players to chug protein drinks until they felt sick.
The lawsuits target university leaders and former football coach Patrick Fitzgerald, who was fired after the allegations came to light. Fitzgerald’s attorney, Dan Webb, has criticized the suits for not offering any evidence.
“These student athletes committed to Northwestern to play varsity sports at a Big 10 school,” Salvi said. “Athletes who worked their entire lives for that honor, and their families, were promised they would receive a world-class education and have the opportunity to develop their skills in a safe environment.
“But when they arrived and were subjected to this abuse, it was not easy for them to ‘just speak up,’” he said.
The fallout began July 7 when the university released a summary of a report it commissioned into allegations of hazing on the football team. The university initially suspended Fitzgerald for two weeks. But he was fired days later after the school newspaper published a story in which players detailed the alleged abuse.
