See how that works?...
Northwestern president says he ‘may have erred’ with 2-week suspension for football coach Pat Fitzgerald
- Thread starter cigaretteman
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See how that works?...
I suppose it's "possible" that a player or two had it in for Fitz and therefore concocted a series lies built around very specific hazing practices that never happened. But I try to use common sense, and that tells me that hazing has been around for long time, especially in sports like football and wrestling and it isn't a stretch to think that a meathead like Fitz has been a fan of it since his playing days.
One of these scenarios seems much more likely to me.
Here's a link. Coaching change is a factor.
https://www.espn.com/college-footba...ootball-new-transfer-portal-windows-explained
This. The allegations were very specific and could have easily been disproven.
Does coach Prime have a strength and conditioning coach that loves to spew racists remarks?
Nope,.. Coach Primes spews his own racist remarks,.. No middle man required.
I believe all football practices are recorded. If Northwestern has video footage of Fitzgerald making the Shrek clap signal over different players immediately following mistakes in practice (and thereby flagging them for punishment in the form of hazing) his goose is cooked, and it should be. Disgusting.
I feel like the “car wash” and “running” rituals would warrant a waiver.
That was last year. The rule changed in the spring of this year. But in reading a little deeper, I think the rule change only applies to players who want to transfer for a second time when there is a coaching change.
So if I understand the new rule correctly, any Northwestern players who have never transferred before would be eligible for a waiver due to Fitz getting fired.
And, as already mentioned, anyone who could demonstrate mental health issues related to the hazing could probably get a waiver.
I think there is ample evidence. As an attorney, I always say that lay people see about 10 to 15% of the actual dirty laundry. The rest is cleverly hidden behind attorneys.
Fitz is going to get a payout. I have been involved in enough terminations to know that unless he was literally stealing from them, they will have to pay him.
You are right about endowments. I will just tell you, as being familiar with university attorneys, and firms that they consult, they will run ole Pat into the ground and take him to pound town. He's free to sue, this is America after all, but he ain't getting more than a "settlement." Unless his employment contract was drafted by a chimpanzee, chances are these type of events trigger automatic dismissal and pecuniary loss (except maybe at Twitter where the former CEO is measuring his tiny peeny).
Especially if his defense is zero knowledge of any hazing. At least that's the gist I got from his letter. If he had zero knowledge of hazing . That's also fairly damning.
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I've agreed with your assessment of "college sports" from day 1. To call them student athletes or collegiate athletes is a joke. None of them are remotely there for an education and half of them can't string along a complete sentence.
Wow. Just think about how many dick slaps that would buy.
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Counterpoint ---- stfu about someone's background, clothing and hair appearance. It has nothing to do with their football abilities.
It's the same thing I said about the Iowa situation: was it outright racist behavior based on antipathy towards all black people? I don't think so at all. But my God, how hard is it to be at least somewhat sensitive and aware that folks from different backgrounds and cultures should be respected and not forced to comply with what YOU think they should look like, how they should speak and how they should wear their hair?
If you are coaching in the year 2023 and you can't meet that bare minimum of cultural and social respect, you are frankly in the wrong job.
Point of clarification - his college career didn’t end against Iowa. He was a junior when he broke his leg and missed out on the chance to play in the Rose Bowl. He came back the next season and helped lead Northwestern to the Citrus Bowl.
But, yeah, for many years he falsely accused Iowa of breaking his leg with an illegal chop block. IIRC it was actually his own teammate who fell on his leg when he got pancaked by Iowa OL Aaron Kooiker.
It’s Northwestern. There are plenty of people on the team who aren’t going to the NFL and are there to get that degree.
While I do agree with the larger premise that college sports are much more professional these days than they are amateur endeavors...I happen to personally know multiple current D1 athletes that are absolutely there for the education...too. In that respect, I think you are casting with way too wide of a net here.
Right here at Iowa we have some tremendous examples of student/athletes to consider and they can do far more than just string together a complete sentence.
The NW establishment has to be wondering why they bother with football at this point. They dont need it.
They’re making UChicago look brilliant for dropping out of the Big Ten when they did. Northwestern doesn’t need this .
They could stay in the Academic Alliance and drop out of the Athletic Part. Chicago did drop out of the new Academic Alliance, but was in the CiC.
I'm more of the opinion that the major revenue sports should probably be spun off. The college coaches contracts are ludicrous at this point. Pay the kids and then after their playing days if football/basketball doesn't work out. They can then go to college.
Players whose head coaches were fired during the season will have an immediate 30-day window to enter the portal, allowing other coaches to talk and communicate with them if there's a future spot on their roster.
This isn't qualitative. It's quantitative. How much and how severe was the hazing? I'm guessing hazing still exists in most programs to some degree.
We all know there are a wide range of possibilities. If Fitz was let go because of claims that were greatly embellished by the kid, he has a nice case and Uni shot themselves in the foot
Depends on the eleven claims. Hard to believe Northwestern would fire him over the claims of only one player. If only one player alleged the dick slapping and the rest merely claimed a mix of racial insensitivity or less severe escapades.
I wasn't aware of the other claims. And I'm not aware of whether they were all the same sort of claim.
Ah, using the Fritz defense. I had no knowledge
. The racial insensitivity was making AA get more appropriate Northwestern Way haircuts. An Hispanic player shaving Cinco De Mayo into his head. Etc etc.From the statement released by NW President Michael Schill:
While the independent investigative report will remain confidential, it is important for our community to know the facts.
While the independent investigative report will remain confidential, it is important for our community to know the facts.
- During the investigation, eleven current or former football student-athletes acknowledged that hazing has been ongoing within the football program. In new media reporting today, still more former Northwestern football student-athletes confirmed that hazing was systemic dating back many years. This has never been about one former student-athlete and his motives; this is much bigger than that.
- The hazing included forced participation, nudity and sexualized acts of a degrading nature, in clear violation of Northwestern policies and values. I am grateful that — to my knowledge — no student suffered physical injury as a result of these behaviors.
- While some student-athletes believed the hazing was in jest and not harmful, others viewed it as causing significant harm with long-term consequences.
- The hazing was well-known by many in the program, though the investigator failed to find any credible evidence that Coach Fitzgerald himself knew about it.
- As the entire six-month independent investigation was confidential, I only recently learned many of the details, including the complainant’s identity. I spoke with his parents on Friday and the student on Sunday.
