Northwestern hazing scandal continues to grow

What started as a flicker with the two-week suspension of head coach Pat Fitzgerald on Friday has mushroomed into a wildfire that is threatening to engulf Fitzgerald, the Northwestern football program and possibly members of the school’s administration.

The episode began with Northwestern’s announcement of a two-week suspension for Fitzgerald as the result of a hazing investigation, a seemingly innocuous end to a six-month long process. Then the Daily Northwestern published an incendiary story the next day detailing disturbing hazing allegations from a former Wildcat player that were confirmed by a second player.

Now, the scandal is burning out of control.

Current and former Wildcat players leapt to the defense of their embattled coach, tweeting their support both individually and releasing a statement collectively. On Saturday night, NU president Michael Schill issued a statement of his own that reopened the door for further sanctions on Fitzgerald.

On Sunday, new developments emerged that have lent credence to some of the whistleblower’s allegations.

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg tweeted that ESPN has in its possession a screen shot of the whiteboard the player described that identified a "SHREK’S LIST" of players' names and several bulleted items, including "naked slingshot" and "naked bear crawls."

WildcatReport has since confirmed with multiple staffers both the “running” of players and “car washes” that the unnamed player described in the Daily Northwestern's story. Running consisted of “a group of 8-10 upperclassmen dressed in various ‘Purge-like’ masks” surrounding and “dry humping” a player in the locker room. Car washes referred to players standing naked at the entrance to the showers and spinning around, forcing players entering the showers to rub up against naked men.

None of the staffers could confirm whether Fitzgerald was aware of these practices, but all of them expressed the idea that if they were aware of them, it was difficult to believe that coaches were not. And coaches are mandatory reporters of hazing, opening up a whole new level of culpability.

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MORE ON THE NORTHWESTERN HAZING SCANDAL:

Timeline of events l Explosive hazing allegations call Fitz, NU administration into question l What does Pat Fitzgerald's suspension mean for NU? l Pat Fitzgerald suspended two weeks in hazing investigation

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Together, all of this reporting suggests that the initial player’s allegations were not fabricated. They may have been “exaggerated and twisted,” as the players defending Fitzgerald claimed in their statement, but no players have flat-out denied that the incidents happened. That is telling.

WildcatReport reached out to several current or recently graduated players, but none responded. There were many different views expressed by the older former players and sources WildcatReport spoke with. Some contend that the actions were voluntary and not forced; that players who didn’t want to take part in the activities were left alone, even if the whistleblower alleged otherwise.

It’s difficult for Northwestern fans to decide whom to believe.

But Schill’s statement suggests that Fitzgerald’s awareness of the hazing might not even matter. The fact that the president of the university issued a statement around 11 p.m. on Saturday night conveys the seriousness of this entire situation.

“In determining an appropriate penalty for the head coach, I focused too much on what the report concluded he didn’t know and not enough on what he should have known,” he stated.

That suggests that Fitzgerald will be held accountable for the hazing regardless of whether he knew about the incidents, and that further sanctions could be levied.

Right now, there is smoke everywhere. Corroborations and evidence have been brought forward by more and more media outlets. The Daily's editor-in-chief, Nicole Markus, tweeted that a former Northwestern offensive lineman confirmed the "car wash" existed when he played, and he alleged that he experienced hazing and racism in the program.

At this point, Fitzgerald’s job may be on the line. The report from the investigation, conducted by former Illinois inspector general Maggie Hickey and her ArentFox Schiff law firm, has yet to be released. Schill, athletic director Derrick Gragg and others involved in the decision process may be called into question.

As the flames spread, no one involved this investigation is safe.