Lawyer: 50 Northwestern Athletes Spoke to Firm over Hazing Allegations amid Scandal

Hazing allegations against several athletic programs at Northwestern continue to pile up.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and his law firm have spoken to 50 former Northwestern student-athletes, both male and female, regarding allegations of hazing and sexual abuse within the university's athletic programs, per Larry Lage and Claire Savage of the Associated Press.

Crump said he and other attorneys have received reports of hazing within the Northwestern baseball and softball programs, in addition to growing hazing and sexual violence allegations against the football program, which former Wildcats running back Warren Miles Long described as "rampant."

"The abusive culture was especially devastating for many players of color," former Wildcats quarterback Lloyd Yates, who is Black, said Wednesday at a news conference, per the Associated Press.

On Tuesday, a former Northwestern football player who played for the program from 2018 to 2022 filed a lawsuit against former head football coach Pat Fitzgerald and members of the university's leadership group, which includes president Michael Schill and athletic director Derrick Gragg, seeking damages stemming from the hazing scandal within the football program, per ESPN's Dan Murphy and Adam Rittenberg.

The anonymous player's attorney told ESPN that the player "was subjected to hazing that included sexualized acts and racial discrimination." The lawsuit also accuses Fitzgerald of being involved in the "harassment, hazing, bullying, assault, and/or abuse of athletes," including the former player.

Fitzgerald was fired as head coach of the football program last week following an investigation into the hazing scandal. Schill said that while there was no "credible evidence" to suggest Fitzgerald knew of the hazing, he was fired "for his failure to know and prevent significant hazing in the football program."

Fitzgerald had served as head coach of the Wildcats since 2006, leading the team to 10 bowl games and two Big Ten championships.

Additionally, former head baseball coach Jim Foster is facing allegations of bullying and abuse.

Former Northwestern baseball players and those close to the baseball program told Jonathan Bullington of the Chicago Tribune that they reported Foster to the university beginning before the 2023 season for "problematic behavior."

The university's human resources department launched an investigation and found "sufficient evidence" that Foster "engaged in bullying and abusive behavior," according to an HR document obtained by the Chicago Tribune.

Foster was also found to have "made an inappropriate comment regarding a female staff member, and spoke negatively about his staff to other staff members."

Like Fitzgerald, Foster was also fired by Northwestern last week.

More lawsuits from former football players, baseball players and other student-athletes from other sports are expected to be filed in the coming days and weeks, according to the Associated Press. Criminal charges are also possible, as Illinois, like most states, has criminalized hazing.