According to about 15 different sources, 14 of whom studied at or are currently at Medill, Pat Fitzgerald has been fired as head coach of the Wildcats of the Northwest.
Northwestern has parted ways with Pat Fitzgerald, sources tell us.
— The Daily Northwestern (@thedailynu) July 10, 2023
Sources: Northwestern has fired coach Pat Fitzgerald.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) July 10, 2023
Sources: Northwestern has parted ways with Pat Fitzgerald.
— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) July 10, 2023
In case you haven’t followed the timeline, here’s a quick overview of what happened:
Friday July 7: Northwestern announces Fitzgerald would be suspended for two weeks as punishment for hazing allegations filed by a player in the program.
Saturday July 8: The Daily Northwestern reports some of the allegations in detailincluding accounts of alleged sexual harassment described as hazing and endemic within the program.
Later that day: Northwest President Michael Schill, who previously held the same position in Oregon,announce that he and the Board of Trustees were “wrong” in their initial judgment of Fitzgerald and would reassess the situation.
Sunday July 9: Northwestern players claiming to be the “All Northwestern Football Team” release statement denying hazing took place, but if there was, it wasn’t that bad, but regardless, Pat Fitzgerald I didn’t know anything about hazing. It’s not going well.
Monday, July 10 (AM): Other former North West players interviewed by The Northwest Journal i InNU describe a culture of racism within the program, including allegations in the late 2000s that Fitzgerald and his staff, under the guise of “The Wildcat Way,” asked black players to cut their dreadlocks and Latino players they were subject to racist jokes and abuse.
Monday, July 10 (2 p.m.): Parkins and Spiegel’s sports radio show on AM670 The Score (Chicago) details various allegations against Northwestern baseball coach Jim Foster of a toxic work environment and reveals that current Northwestern athletic director Dr. Derrick Gragg played little role in Foster’s hiring, instead delegating the process to boosters.
Monday July 10 (PM): Featured wildcats like Cleveland Browns DB Greg Newsome II speak clearly in support of Fitzgerald. A former employee shares the whistleblower’s identity in a Twitter message. The posts receive likes from dozens of Northwestern football players, some of whom post their own messages.
Monday, July 10 (5 p.m. CT): Northwest fires Fitzgerald. What his record was is irrelevant, that’s not why he was fired.
I apologize for not having much to say; as a non-Medill alumnus from Northwestern, I am beyond words or a misplaced sense of ego to comment on the matter beyond that – it is heartbreaking for the students who were subjected to this sort of thing. of supposed atmosphere. It is shameful to see what a toxic, mismanaged and poorly regulated culture has been created around Northwestern athletics. And it saddens me to think that the only coach I’ve ever really known as the face of Northwestern football is gone because of this — how it happened, how it was mishandled and how it reflects on my alma mater.
Feel free to sound off in the comments. This is a breaking story that we will talk more about in the coming days.
