Former assistant football coach Mike Bajakian is suing Northwestern University for defamation and spreading false information for the school's actions during the hazing scandal that rocked the program last summer.
As reported by ESPN, Bajakian, who was fired as offensive coordinator in December and now works as an offensive analyst at the University of Utah, named Northwestern, university president Michael Schill and athletic director Derrick Gragg in his lawsuit, filed last week in Cook County (Ill.) Circuit Court. His lawsuit states that Schill's decision to fire coach Pat Fitzgerald, just days after announcing a two-week suspension for the coach and the findings of its own external investigation into hazing claims, cast Bajakian and other staff members "in a false and misleading light."
"Although Fitzgerald was the only football staff member fired in July 2023, Bajakian claims that the university's response 'created, perpetuated and encouraged a false and misleading narrative' about his conduct and others on the staff, and was only done in response to heavy media pressure," ESPN's Adam Rittenberg wrote.
Bajakian served as Northwestern's offensive coordinator for the previous four seasons. Northwestern ranked 120th nationally in yards and 129th in scoring during Bajakian's tenure. Previously, he had held coordinator and/or quarterbacks coach roles with Boston College, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee, Cincinnati and Central Michigan, Rittenberg reported.
According to the lawsuit, Bajakian lost the chance to have his contract renewed, could not land comparable employment and suffered reputational damage. David Braun, who was named Northwestern's permanent coach in November after serving in an interim role, made several staff changes following an 8-5 season.
Bajakian's lawsuit also focused on Gragg's August 2023 statement criticizing staff and team members for wearing a T-shirt that read "Cats against the World" and included Fitzgerald's jersey number (51) at the school, according to Ritteberg, adding that the lawsuit claims Bajakian observed the T-shirts at team practices or workouts throughout late July and early August that Northwestern administrators attended without raising any objections. According to the lawsuit, Bajakian wore the T-shirt at a team practice and had a conversation with Gragg, who expressed no opposition.
But two days later, after images of Bajakian and others wearing the T-shirt appeared on social media during a football practice open to media members, Gragg issued a statement calling the shirts "inappropriate, offensive and tone deaf." Gragg claimed that neither he nor the university had any knowledge of the shirts. He did not name Bajakian publicly, Rittenberg reported.
"Derrick Gragg publicly maligned Michael Bajakian's character and reputation, and misled the public through his false statement, and has caused actual damages," Bajakian's lawsuit reads, as reported by ESPN.
Fitzgerald has filed a $130 million wrongful termination lawsuit against Northwestern, which also faces lawsuits from dozens of former athletes based on allegations of hazing and mistreatment.
