Explosive hazing allegations call Fitz, NU administration into question

Friday seemed like a dark day in Evanston, as head coach Pat Fitzgerald was suspended for two weeks as the result of an investigation into hazing in the Northwestern football program. But that was nothing compared to Saturday.

The Daily Northwestern published an explosive report that included a detailed account of hazing incidents within the Wildcat program from a former player who wished to remain anonymous. His statements were corroborated by another player, again anonymously.

If true, they could mean the end of Fitzgerald's 18-year tenure at Northwestern, as difficult as that is to believe.

The allegations were disturbing and sexual in nature, including a forced center-quarterback exchange while naked.

The smoking gun, however, was the practice of “running” a player, when “a group of 8-10 upperclassmen dressed in various ‘Purge-like’ masks” would surround and “dry hump” a player in the locker room who made a mistake during practice or in a game.

What makes this running allegation particularly incendiary was that the player alleges that Fitzgerald not only knew of the practice but would sometimes identify players who needed to be “ran” when they made a mistake on the field during practice. The signal was clapping your hands above your head, also dubbed the “Shrek clap.” The player alleged that Fitzgerald himself would use the clap to signal to the team when a player needed to be disciplined.

If this allegation proves to be true, Fitzgerald may have coached his last game at Northwestern. The head coach is the face of the Wildcat program and has enormous power within the athletic department, but he would need to be held accountable for the actions that occurred on his watch, no matter how squeaky clean his image is and how many players he graduated over the years.

The detailed nature of the accounts make it difficult to believe that they were fabricated by a disgruntled former player. One football staff member -- not a player or coach -- corroborated the running of players to WildcatReport. The person, who wished to remain anonymous, also said it would be very surprising if Fitzgerald was not aware of the practice because it was common knowledge within the program.

“It wasn’t a secret,” the source said.

WildcatReport reached out to several players but none responded by the time this story was published.

But what makes this entire episode even more shocking is the administration’s decision to suspend Fitzgerald for two weeks in light of the findings. Given what we now know of the allegations, that amounts to a slap on the wrist.

If the Daily uncovered these allegations, you have to believe that lead investigator Maggie Hickey, former inspector general of Illinois, and her law firm of ArentFox Schiff did as well. The player in question said that he reported these same incidents to the university in November of 2022.

Yet the only action the administration took was to suspend Fitzgerald in mid-July, when he wouldn't even miss a practice, let alone a game.

This opens up several more questions that need to be answered.

If the administration knew all of this information, how did they think that a two-week suspension was sufficient punishment? Why were no other players or staff members punished?

And, more pointedly, did administrators mete out that suspension because they thought that these graphic allegations would never come out, that they could try to sweep the whole thing under the rug? The punishment announced on Friday seemed to make this a story that was "much ado about nothing," when it was, in reality, far more serious.

Those are questions that Athletic Director Dr. Derrick Gragg and Northwestern President Dr. Michael Schill need to answer and be held accountable for.

Saturday was, indeed, a dark day for Wildcat football. But there may be more storm clouds gathering on the horizon.