Vincent Frank
It was back in July that longtime Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired by the program after allegations of widespread hazing came to light relating to his team.
Fitzgerald, 48, had been a Northwestern lifer. He played linebacker for the Wildcats from 1994-96, winning Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year twice and finding himself as an All-American two other times. Since 2006, he had served as Northwestern’s head coach.
The scandal and his firing was among the biggest sports stories of the summer.
Fast forward several months, and Fitzgerald is responding to his firing by filing a $130 million wrongful termination lawsuit against Northwestern.
“The fact that he was terminated based on no rational reasons or facts whatsoever, the fact that they’ve gone out and destroyed his reputation as one of the best football coaches in America, based on no legitimate reason or evidence, is disgraceful,” Pat Fitzgerald’s lawyer, Dan Webb said in a statement, via ESPN. “It’s despicable conduct on behalf of Northwestern. My client and his family are entitled to their day in court for justice.”
The school’s newspaper, The Daily Northwestern, was all over hazing and other allegations levied against the Northwestern football program during Fitzgerald’s tenure. While there was no evidence that the coaching staff knew directly about the hazing, information provided by former players under Fitzgerald paints a different picture.
“Another player, who asked to remain anonymous and played through the 2009 season, said racism on the team was often blatant. He alleged head coach Pat Fitzgerald would ask Black players and coaches to cut off longer hairstyles — including dreadlocks — so that they were more in line with what Fitzgerald called the ‘Wildcat Way.’
Report on Northwestern culture under Pat Fitzgerald
Pat Fitzgerald coaching record: 110-101, 10 bowl appearances
As you can see, Fitzgerald was an extremely successful on-field coach. Prior to his arrival at Northwestern, the program had made just five bowl appearances since 1948 with only two double-digit win seasons since its inception back in 1892. Fitzgerald led the program to three double-digit win seasons and five bowl wins.
Even then, the allegations against Northwestern’s football program under Fitzgerald’s watch were too much for him to save his job.
“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. “He had the responsibility to know that hazing was occurring and to stop it. He failed to do so.”
