Northwestern University was hit with yet another lawsuit related to the school's widespread culture of hazing within its athletics program that resulted in the dismissal of both head football coach, Pat Fitzgerald, and head baseball coach Jim Foster.
Northwestern University was hit with yet another lawsuit related to the school's widespread culture of hazing within its athletics program that resulted in the dismissal of both head football coach, Pat Fitzgerald, and head baseball coach Jim Foster.Â
Three former Northwestern football players this week filed a suit against the university and Fitzgerald for alleged violent sexual hazing they endured.Â
According to the Chicago ABC affiliate, the first plaintiff in the lawsuit is a 27-year-old former Wildcat linebacker who attended Northwestern from 2015-2019; the second attended from 2019-2023; and the third was at Northwestern between 2020 and 2023.
Two of the players said they took steps to alert Northwestern officials of "violent sexual hazing" and "emotional abuse" in the football program, but their complaints went unheard.Â
More than 50 former student athletes have filed suit against the school and Fitzgerald, claiming they experienced physical and mental harm through hazing and racism on the team.
Fitzgerald was fired in July 2023, about 10 days after the news of the hazing scandal broke. He denies any wrongdoing in the scandal and has filed his own lawsuit over how his termination was handled by the school.Â
