Former Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the school seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages after he was fired in July over allegations of hazing in the Wildcats program.
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The lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois, alleges six violations by Northwestern: breach of oral contract, breach of written contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, false light and interference with a business expectancy.
“If there was ever an athletic coach at Northwestern University that should not have been terminated, it’s Coach Fitzgerald,” Dan Webb, Fitzgerald’s lawyer, told reporters at a news conference Thursday.
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Fitzgerald is seeking the remaining $68 million salary left on his contract, which was scheduled to run through 2031 before Northwestern fired him for cause, and damages “for his lost ability to obtain similar employment during the prime of his professional coaching career.” The lawsuit says this amount “will exceed $130,000,000.” Fitzgerald also is seeking “compensatory damages for emotional distress suffered by Fitzgerald and his family” after Northwestern fired him, and punitive damages based on Northwestern’s “intentional or willful and wanton conduct.”
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Northwestern fired Fitzgerald after former players told the Daily Northwestern they were subjected to sexualized hazing activities in the team locker room and at a preseason training camp. One former player told the student newspaper Fitzgerald would identify players who needed to be hazed by making a gesture known by players as “the Shrek clap.”
“As head coach of the football program for 17 years, Patrick Fitzgerald was responsible for the conduct of the program,” Northwestern said in a statement Thursday. “He had the responsibility to know that hazing was occurring and to stop it. He failed to do so.”
Northwestern initially suspended Fitzgerald for two weeks without pay after the school commissioned an investigation into hazing within the program. But after the Daily Northwestern report, school president Michael Schill fired Fitzgerald, telling the school community in a letter that he “may have erred in weighing the appropriate sanction.”
In the lawsuit, Fitzgerald claims he agreed to accept Northwestern’s original two-week suspension because he believed it “would constitute the full extent of any discipline” related to the school’s investigation and he would remain the head coach. Fitzgerald alleges these promises were relayed to him orally by Northwestern general counsel Stephanie Graham and that they constituted an oral contract, which Northwestern then breached by firing him.
During Thursday’s news conference, Webb called the oral contract “fully enforceable” under Illinois law. He also said he believes the hazing “was grossly exaggerated” and that the player who lodged the main allegations “had a grudge against Coach Fitzgerald.” The lawsuit asserts that Wildcats players warned Fitzgerald during the 2022 season that the player “was planning to report false hazing allegations to Northwestern with the intention of having Fitzgerald’s employment harmed and/or terminated.”
Webb told reporters he has tried and failed to reach a settlement with Northwestern after making “a good-faith effort to try and get Coach Fitzgerald fair and reasonable compensation.” He added he remains open to a settlement.
Several former Northwestern football players have filed lawsuits of their own against the school, alleging they were subjected to hazing and harassment that included sexualized acts and racial discrimination, that Fitzgerald took part in the hazing and harassment as other players watched, and that school leaders were negligent in allowing those incidents to occur. Fitzgerald has denied having any knowledge of the hazing. A former Northwestern volleyball player also has filed a lawsuit against the school, alleging she required medical attention after a hazing incident in early 2021 and that Coach Shane Davis retaliated against her after she reported the incident to school officials.
Fitzgerald was a beloved former Northwestern player who had led the Wildcats to a 110-101 record, two Big Ten division championships and five bowl games as their head coach. The school elevated defensive coordinator David Braun to interim coach, and Northwestern has gone 2-3 this season.
In August, Northwestern hired former U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch to conduct an investigation into athletic department culture at the school. It said the results of that report will be made public, unlike the results of the initial school report that eventually led to Fitzgerald’s dismissal.
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The lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois, alleges six violations by Northwestern: breach of oral contract, breach of written contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, false light and interference with a business expectancy.
“If there was ever an athletic coach at Northwestern University that should not have been terminated, it’s Coach Fitzgerald,” Dan Webb, Fitzgerald’s lawyer, told reporters at a news conference Thursday.
An augmented reality helmet could help Gallaudet football change the game
Fitzgerald is seeking the remaining $68 million salary left on his contract, which was scheduled to run through 2031 before Northwestern fired him for cause, and damages “for his lost ability to obtain similar employment during the prime of his professional coaching career.” The lawsuit says this amount “will exceed $130,000,000.” Fitzgerald also is seeking “compensatory damages for emotional distress suffered by Fitzgerald and his family” after Northwestern fired him, and punitive damages based on Northwestern’s “intentional or willful and wanton conduct.”
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Northwestern fired Fitzgerald after former players told the Daily Northwestern they were subjected to sexualized hazing activities in the team locker room and at a preseason training camp. One former player told the student newspaper Fitzgerald would identify players who needed to be hazed by making a gesture known by players as “the Shrek clap.”
“As head coach of the football program for 17 years, Patrick Fitzgerald was responsible for the conduct of the program,” Northwestern said in a statement Thursday. “He had the responsibility to know that hazing was occurring and to stop it. He failed to do so.”
Northwestern initially suspended Fitzgerald for two weeks without pay after the school commissioned an investigation into hazing within the program. But after the Daily Northwestern report, school president Michael Schill fired Fitzgerald, telling the school community in a letter that he “may have erred in weighing the appropriate sanction.”
In the lawsuit, Fitzgerald claims he agreed to accept Northwestern’s original two-week suspension because he believed it “would constitute the full extent of any discipline” related to the school’s investigation and he would remain the head coach. Fitzgerald alleges these promises were relayed to him orally by Northwestern general counsel Stephanie Graham and that they constituted an oral contract, which Northwestern then breached by firing him.
During Thursday’s news conference, Webb called the oral contract “fully enforceable” under Illinois law. He also said he believes the hazing “was grossly exaggerated” and that the player who lodged the main allegations “had a grudge against Coach Fitzgerald.” The lawsuit asserts that Wildcats players warned Fitzgerald during the 2022 season that the player “was planning to report false hazing allegations to Northwestern with the intention of having Fitzgerald’s employment harmed and/or terminated.”
Webb told reporters he has tried and failed to reach a settlement with Northwestern after making “a good-faith effort to try and get Coach Fitzgerald fair and reasonable compensation.” He added he remains open to a settlement.
Several former Northwestern football players have filed lawsuits of their own against the school, alleging they were subjected to hazing and harassment that included sexualized acts and racial discrimination, that Fitzgerald took part in the hazing and harassment as other players watched, and that school leaders were negligent in allowing those incidents to occur. Fitzgerald has denied having any knowledge of the hazing. A former Northwestern volleyball player also has filed a lawsuit against the school, alleging she required medical attention after a hazing incident in early 2021 and that Coach Shane Davis retaliated against her after she reported the incident to school officials.
Fitzgerald was a beloved former Northwestern player who had led the Wildcats to a 110-101 record, two Big Ten division championships and five bowl games as their head coach. The school elevated defensive coordinator David Braun to interim coach, and Northwestern has gone 2-3 this season.
In August, Northwestern hired former U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch to conduct an investigation into athletic department culture at the school. It said the results of that report will be made public, unlike the results of the initial school report that eventually led to Fitzgerald’s dismissal.
