Northwestern University students on Tuesday broadly agreed to fire head football coach Pat Fitzgerald amid disturbing allegations that continue to rock the football team and the campus community.
Fitzgerald was initially suspended for two weeks without pay by university president Michael Schell. After the Daily Northwestern student newspaper reported details of the alleged hazing, Schell said he “may have missed” the penalty and went on to expel Fitzgerald.
Meanwhile, students wonder what comes next, how the football program and culture might be redefined and how the larger conversation surrounding hazing in college athletics might shift.
Malik Rice, 19, of Atlanta, is a sophomore at Northwestern University, studying political science and law. He believes there has always been a culture of hazing in college athletics, particularly football, so he wasn’t too surprised by the allegations.
Malik Rice, 19, said there is a culture of hazing in college athletics and she was not surprised by the new allegations.
Jacqueline German/Sun Times
Along with hazing allegations and Fitzgerald’s dismissal, the Daily Northwestern on Monday ran a story about the experiences of three former Northwestern football players navigating an “enabling culture of racism.” The three players, who attended the school in the late 2000s, have confirmed some hazing activity.
Rice said that as a black student in a predominantly white institution, he was not surprised to hear that football players suffered from racism.
“I hope that all black and non-white football players live their lives and get better,” said Rice. “I hope they get the recovery they need.”
Houston’s 21-year-old senior rookie, Ethan McAlpine, was stunned to fire Fitzgerald after the initial announcement of the two-week suspension.
“I think there’s a history of ‘Oh, we’ll look at it,’ and then a committee is set up and then nothing happens,” said McAlpine, who studies computer science. “There have been a couple allegations of sexual assault with so many siblings that I feel the school has been ignored, pushed under the rug, or not really taken immediate action.”
Ethan McAlpine, 21, said they were surprised by Pat Fitzgerald’s dismissal.
Jacqueline German/Sun Times
McAlpine said that firing Fitzgerald was the right move.
“I hope that justice is indeed sought because I don’t think that’s necessarily functionally what’s been done so far,” McAlpine said.
John Chen, 21, a rising undergraduate student studying biomedical engineering, was disappointed to hear at first that Fitzgerald faced a two-week suspension. Chen said he feels the hazing activities come from “top to bottom”, and that the university’s expulsion of Fitzgerald was a step in the right direction.
“Start at the top, and this is where the solution begins,” Chen said.
John Chen, 21, sees hazing as a “top-down” affair.
Jacqueline German/Sun Times
Similarly, Evanston resident Gregory Off, 82, said Fitzgerald should have known about the alleged harassment on the football team. Ove believed Fitzgerald’s firing was justified.
Off said that “his job is to check the dressing rooms and see what’s going on”. “He paid a big salary.”
Elijah Huang, 21, a rising undergraduate student also studying biomedical engineering, said the university’s decision to fire Fitzgerald after announcing his suspension was “reactionary.” Had it not been for the Daily Northwestern reports, Huang said, Fitzgerald most likely would have continued coaching.
“It’s a little unfortunate that administrations — just in general, not just in the Northwest — are so reactionary,” Huang said. “So if there is no response, nothing will change.”
Elijah Huang, 21, believes the university’s decision to fire Pat Fitzgerald was “reactionary”.
Jacqueline German/Sun Times
Evanston resident Norman Weston, 75, agreed that allegations detailed in the student newspaper played a large role in Fitzgerald’s termination.
“The fact that the story got out of the student paper was really revealing,” Weston said. Shows the strength of the student’s voice.
Dami Akane, 20, from Lagos, Nigeria, was shocked to hear of the scale of the hazing allegations. Akane said a greater shift in culture and mentality among football players is needed for tangible change and an end to hazing.
“I think now you see that no one is safe – even the coach now – [the players] We see that the consequences will be taken for action. I think this is the first step, said Akane.
Dami Akane, 20, was shocked to hear the scale of the hazing allegations.
Jacqueline German/Sun Times
Maddie Kerr, 21, a freshman studying sociology, said she remembers taking a course on hazing prevention online as a freshman. Kerr was aware of the hazing going on, but was shocked to hear details of what the players claimed to have experienced.
Maddie Kerr, 21, is questioning the mental health of footballers after allegations of hazing.
Jacqueline German/Sun Times
“The mental damage of having to go through this stuff, even if you’re just watching it, I can’t even imagine experiencing it firsthand,” Kerr said. “This is just a very horrible shock.”
Elizabeth Shuckman Hurd, a political science professor, was similarly concerned with the mental health of gamers. As a professor, she said the hazing allegations were disturbing and she did not wish her students to be traumatized.
“I had a student on the football team in my class who was a lovely guy,” Hurd said. “When I think of him going through that horrific ritual, I shudder.”
Abby Farley, 20, a freshman, said she would like to see more investigation into other Northwestern sports teams.
Jacqueline German/Sun Times
Abby Farley, a junior who has been on the Northwestern March squad since her freshman year, said she was aware of the allegations involving the baseball and football teams. It said reports from various college sports teams warranted investigation. Farley, who studies psychology and cognitive science, said she would like to see more accountability in general across all major university activities and institutions.
“Northwestern is just one of the number of D1 schools?” Farley said. “I can almost guarantee we are not the only ones struggling with this problem. I hope other people and other schools feel empowered to speak up and help advocate for change and feel comfortable to do so.”
Northwestern is dealing with scandals as it continues to push for a new stadium that many Evanston residents oppose on the site of Ryan Field.
The hazing allegations highlight the university’s failure in its mission to protect students, said David DiCarlo, 34, an Evanston resident. Given the scope of the allegations, the university needs to “hold off” on the proposals for Ryan Field, said DiCarlo, president of the More Livable City Association, a nonprofit organization opposed to the stadium proposal.
How can a university be trusted when it fails in a fundamental way, with something about all these promises it makes to the broader level [Evanston] community?” said DiCarlo, who lives near Ryan Field.
In an open letter to Schell, athletic director Derek Garage and Peter Preece, chair of the Northwestern board of trustees, Heard and five other NU professors said the university needed to hold off on Ryan Field’s proposals.
“The disturbing evidence of harassment and abuse – and high-level efforts to reduce these problems – suggests that we need to put the existing house in order before extending it,” the letter said.
Hurd said that since the open letter was sent on Sunday, before Fitzgerald’s termination was announced, university officials have not responded.
Although the campus community and some Evanston residents seem to support the university’s decision to fire Fitzgerald, others question whether the university did its due diligence.
Aaron Tyler, 66, said Fitzgerald has been with Northwestern for a long time and seems to be well liked by the players. Tyler, who lives in Park Ridge, said the university quickly expelled Fitzgerald without a major investigation.
“I think they just wanted it to go away,” Tyler said.
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