Northwestern released the findings of a 6-month investigation into hazing allegations within the Wildcats football program which included, among other outcomes, a 2-week suspension for head coach Pat Fitzgerald.
On Saturday, the student newspaper The Daily Northwestern published the allegations that led to the investigation. Citing two unnamed players, the article laid out ritual hazing against freshmen players that went well beyond duct taping the newcomers to the goal post; what the article lays out is nothing short of sexual assault. In one section, the article said Fitzgerald regularly made a gesture that indicated he was aware of one particular hazing ritual and, by making the gesture, tacitly endorsed its use.
"It's a shocking experience as a freshman to see your fellow freshman teammates get ran, but then you see everybody bystanding in the locker room," the former player told the paper. "It's just a really abrasive and barbaric culture that has permeated throughout that program for years on end now."
On Saturday evening, a statement attributed to the "ENTIRE" Northwestern football team vehemently denied all allegations -- "exaggerated and twisted into lies" -- and defended Fitzgerald's non-involvement in what the statement's authors said never happened.
One question that emerged following the Daily Northwestern story was whether the school was aware of all the unnamed player's allegations before the story published. In a statement to ESPN, Northwestern said it was aware of the player's allegations and referred to its statement from Friday.
"Our first priority is to support and protect our students, including the young man who brought these matters to our attention and all student-athletes who had the courage to come forward in this independent investigation," the school said. "That is why the university immediately opened this investigation upon learning of the allegations and why we took decisive action once we ascertained the facts."
“Northwestern football prides itself on producing not just athletes, but fine young men with character befitting the program and our University,” Fitzgerald said in a statement Friday. “We hold our student-athletes and our program to the highest standards; we will continue to work to exceed those standards moving forward.”
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