Does anyone really know what hazing is? It's sort of a Code Red for college students?
If the players think the accusations are "exaggerated and twisted "I'm inclined to believe them. Besides, the coach has called and apologized to the kid's parents for what their son "was forced to go through"...which honestly was probably reciting some poetry while being sexually assaulted (worst case). In fact, it might have been simply the poetry?
What I'm trying to say here is that every player has committed to getting their brains scrambled (can you spell CTE) to help the school generate money for their sports programs. Is it too much to ask a player to put up with a little abuse (in the name of good clean fun)?
I say ya!
Northwestern president says he ‘may have erred’ in 2-week suspension for football coach Pat Fitzgerald
By Vivian La and Paul Sullivan
Chicago Tribune
Jul 09, 2023 at 9:22 am
Northwestern President Michael Schill said he “may have erred in weighing the appropriate sanction” for football coach Pat Fitzgerald, who began a two-week unpaid suspension Friday after an outside investigation on hazing incidents on the team.
“I focused too much on what the report concluded he didn’t know and not enough on what he should have known,” Schill wrote in the statement sent to the Northwestern community on Saturday night.
Schill said Fitzgerald failed to uphold the school’s “institutional commitment” to ensure all students can thrive. “I failed to sufficiently consider that failure in levying a sanction,” he said.
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Fitzgerald’s suspension was among the measures Northwestern announced after a six-month investigation it commissioned into hazing allegations made by an anonymous player. Details of hazing involving sexual acts were published in The Daily Northwestern on Saturday.
The investigation found there was not sufficient evidence that the coaching staff, including Fitzgerald, were aware of the hazing but determined there were “significant” opportunities to discover and report the hazing.
Schill was unavailable for comment Sunday, according to a Northwestern spokesman.
In a statement to ESPN, allegedly made by the football team, the players said the allegations of hazing were “exaggerated and twisted” It also claimed Fitzgerald was not involved or aware of any of the hazing incidents. No names were attached to it and nowhere was it stated what part of the former players’ allegations to The Daily Northwestern were “exaggerated or twisted.”
Fitzgerald was unavailable for comment Sunday and his representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the coach’s suspension or Schill’s decision to reassess the sanctions.
Fitzgerald signed a 10-year extension in 2021 that goes through the 2030 season. The university would likely have to discuss a settlement if it decides to move on from Fitzgerald, the winningest coach in school history.
Schill said that he spoke with the player’s family and apologized for what their son had to go through in the program. He also said he attempted to reach out to the player himself.
Schill will speak with Northwestern’s board of trustees and other university leaders to determine a new penalty for Fitzgerald, the team’s coach since 2006 and a two-time national defensive player of the year for the Wildcats.
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