A group of former Northwestern football players has agreed to settle a series of lawsuits against the university that allege hazing and abusive behavior on the team, according to a school spokesperson, who said settlement documents are being finalized.
Details about the settlement terms were not immediately available, but the Northwestern spokesperson said the agreement ‘‘will fully resolve the student plaintiffs’ claims’’ against the school and former football coach Pat Fitzgerald.
“It will not, however, resolve Fitzgerald’s claims against Northwestern,” spokesperson Jon Yates said. Fitzgerald, who led the team for 17 seasons, has sued the university, claiming he was wrongfully terminated and committed no wrongdoing.
In July 2023, a former Wildcats player who was on the team from 2018 to 2022, filed the first lawsuit against Fitzgerald and members of the school’s leadership, including president Michael Schill, Derrick Gragg, the athletic director at the time, and the board of trustees.
The player, identified in the lawsuit as John Doe, alleged in Cook County Court that Fitzgerald, Schill, the board and Gragg enabled and concealed sexual misconduct and racial discrimination. His filing was submitted by the Chicago-based Salvi Law Firm.
More suits followed, including by former student football player Lloyd Yates, who was represented by civil rights attorney Ben Crump.
“We were conditioned to believe that this behavior was normal, which was sickening and unacceptable,” Yates said in July, 2023, when the suit was filed. “To all the young athletes out there, I urge you to stand up, stand up for yourself, even when the odds are against you.”
As of May 2024, ESPN reported 25 former players had filed suit against Northwestern, alleging hazing and other mistreatment, including racist taunts.
Northwestern fired Fitzgerald after the allegations of hazing in the school’s football program were made public in 2023 — through the university’s own announcement of the findings of an internal investigation and through the school’s student newspaper, The Daily Northwestern, which published graphic details of sexualized hazing rituals.
“The hazing we investigated was widespread and clearly not a secret within the program, providing Coach Fitzgerald with the opportunity to learn what was happening,” Schill wrote in a letter addressing the Northwestern community.
Fitzgerald’s attorneys maintain that their client “committed no wrongdoing.”
“Despite extensive written and testimonial discovery, there remains no evidence to show or suggest that Coach Fitzgerald was aware of any hazing at Northwestern,” Fitzgerald’s attorneys said in a statement Tuesday.
“He continues to assert that Northwestern illegally terminated his employment, violated an oral contract, and defamed him, causing significant damage to his sterling reputation,” Fitzgerald’s attorneys said.
Fitzgerald’s trial date in the lawsuit he brought against the university is set for Nov. 3, according to his attorney.
After the hazing allegation surfaced, Northwestern said it has taken steps to address hazing and misconduct within its athletic program. These include launching a tool to survey and track issues raised by student-athletes, more anti-hazing training for athletes, adding a new comprehensive portal of reporting options and creating a new position to provide oversight of the school’s 19 varsity programs.
Contributing: Associated Press