Northwestern has fired trainer Pat Fitzgerald amid a hazing scandal that known as into query his management of this system and broken the college’s popularity after it mishandled its reaction to the allegations.
Fitzgerald’s dismissal on Monday finished a speedy fall from grace for the previous Northwestern linebacker. The 48-year-old Fitzgerald were firmly entrenched at his alma mater, an annual fixture on any checklist of school coaches with probably the most task safety.
“The head coach is ultimately responsible for the culture of his team,” Northwestern President Michael Schill mentioned in an open letter. “The hazing we investigated used to be in style and obviously now not a secret throughout the program, offering Coach Fitzgerald with the chance to be informed what used to be taking place. Either means, the tradition in Northwestern Football, whilst unbelievable in many ways, used to be damaged in others.”
Fitzgerald began a two-week suspension on Friday after the school said an investigation by a law firm did not find “enough” evidence that the coaching staff knew about ongoing hazing — though there were “vital alternatives” to find out about it.
The Daily Northwestern then published a story on Saturday detailing allegations from a former player who described specific instances of hazing and sexual abuse. The report also indicated that Fitzgerald “can have identified that hazing came about”.
That led Schill to write an open letter to the university community in which he acknowledged focusing “an excessive amount of on what the file concluded (Fitzgerald) did not know and now not sufficient on what he must have identified.” Schill went on to say that he planned to speak with university leadership, members of the board of trustees and leaders of the faculty senate to determine his next steps.
Schill used to be the president of the University of Oregon sooner than taking on Northwestern in September. He additionally teaches at Northwestern’s legislation faculty.