2023 Northwestern Offseason Thread

[847badgerfan]

Did not see one, so here it is. Not good news.

Pat Fitzgerald suspended 2 weeks in Northwestern hazing inquiry - ESPN

[Hawkinole]

If the football coach was not aware of the hazing I am not sure how the football coach is implicated in it.

[847badgerfan]

In the article it was stated that he should have known. "Known" and "should have known" are the same.

Anyway, slap on the wrist. We're in a dead period in the middle of summer workouts. No harm at all.

[Brutus Buckeye]

So they just sack the coach for two weeks, and that's the punishment? 

[847badgerfan]

Sounds like it.

[bayareabadger]

So they just sack the coach for two weeks, and that's the punishment?

They just don’t pay him for his time off. 

[GopherRock]

https://dailynorthwestern.com/2023/07/08/top-stories/former-nu-football-player-details-hazing-allegations-after-coach-suspension/

If any of what's on that article is true, Fitz and his entire staff are going to be gone before training camp starts, and NU isn't going to be paying any buyout.

[Hawkinole]

Fitzgerald says he didn't know of it, but this article sheds light on the severity of the hazing, and widespread knowledge amongst players, and rather public (within the locker room and showers) nature of it.
In the earlier article it appears abundantly clear the university decided not to reveal the nature of the abusive hazing to "protect" the university and possibly its coaching staff. Only when players are interviewed by the campus newspaper reporter are the ugly facts revealed. Then the university responds saying it was trying to protect the privacy of the players.
I agree with the previous poster's conclusion. I don't see how Fitzgerald hangs on, either.

[Hawkinole]

An ESPN reporter was sent a photo by a Northwestern player of a white board from the middle of the locker room on which player's names are listed, and several bulleted items, including "naked slingshot" and "naked bear crawls." Greenberg: Latest Northwestern mess shows it’s time for Pat Fitzgerald to go (msn.com)
The president of the university has now written a public letter saying, "upon reflection, I believe I may have erred in weighing the appropriate sanction for Coach Fitzgerald.  . . .  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."  Update on Hazing Investigation: Leadership Notes - Northwestern University
The updates are fast and furious, and back pedaling has begun after a former player and current player discussed the underlying facts and shared a photo of the white board with a reporter.

[GopherRock]

The two week suspension is only there for the general counsel's office to get their documentation in order to sack him for cause.  

[medinabuckeye1]

The two week suspension is only there for the general counsel's office to get their documentation in order to sack him for cause. 

Sad to see him go, but I think this is correct. 

[Brutus Buckeye]

Why would the upperclassmen ever even agree to that? 

It doesn't sound like it would be much fun for them either. 

Gross. 

[FearlessF]

fun hater

[Hawkinole]

What is really weird to me is that Fitzgerald, upon learning of the hazing as a result of the complaint(s) and his own investigation, or even later as a result of the attorneys' investigation, did not immediately suspend or terminate players involved in a sexual hazing fiasco, as if he were head coach, even if he had not previously known of it.
It is damning on Fitzgerald's part that he did nothing. It would appear he either made no inquiry, or if he did inquire, he didn't inquire of the victims.