Northwestern- Fitzgerald Suspended, Now Fired Due to Hazing

[RUScrew85]

Haha it seems to be very common in college locker rooms. Didnt happen at NW but it did at PSU. At psu they were bare dick to the facing kids as recently as 5 years ago. How franklin survived that is incredible

Former PSU football player details claims he was hazed by teammates

The latest complaint filed by Isaiah Humphries details accusations of hazing and harassment against teammates Micah Parsons, Yetur Gross-Matos, Jesse Luketa and Damion Barber. Only Barber is a defendant in the case.

t.co

Ah damn. I deleted too late for your response. The wife is gonna be giving me the stink eye for playing this down as a joke now.

I was going for the "Sounds like a typical weekend at ________'s house." joke.

 

[rutgersguy1]

I don't believe what's being reported at that link from unnamed and/or anonymous "players". Hazing? Sure. That form of it? Not buying it - not yet. Not based on anonymous reports by purported players.

Of course it's entirely possible it's true. But I'd need to see it taken to a courtroom with witnesses testifying under oath before I'd believe many/most of the details from that article.

Mostly because I think (a) it's extremely unlikely a large enough group of upperclassmen would engage in the behavior described, (b) I think a fairly large number of upperclassmen would not only object, but would interfere and/or report it to the coaching staff immediately, and (c) I think it likely one or more freshmen would've refused all of it, and reported it to the coaching staff immediately.

So, time will tell. Because based on what was reported, players broke the law and will be prosecuted so we'll what happens.

I think it has the potential to blow up but I don’t know if it will.

Before the details got out, I was thinking it doesn’t sound like much and it’s a suspension before camp so not a big deal. Now I think potential is anything is possible, depends on how much it catches fire.

 

[rutgersguy1]

We’ll see. Again, I’m not saying there was no hazing. I’m saying that the details of what the hazing was, from the article to which I responded above, is literally unbelievable to me for the reasons I stated previously.

No player/witness has been identified publicly, so far at least, right? Everything posted to this thread has cited anonymous and/or undisclosed sources.

If there is a law firm involved, then I missed it in the links posted here. Who hired the law firm? Who do they represent?

Ultimately, I’ll wait to see what evidence a judge allows into a courtroom, or even if the witnesses are willing to testify under oath. Because right now, I think a lot of what’s being reported is probably BS.

But we’ll see. Maybe I’m wrong. I have no dog in this hunt, so I really don’t care either way.

It was in the article and the law firm was hired by the school as an independent third party to investigate as is often done in messy situations. The lead investigator was a woman that was Inspector General for Illinois.

 

[RUScrew85]

Ah damn. I deleted too late for your response. The wife is gonna be giving me the stink eye for playing this down as a joke now.

I was going for the "Sounds like a typical weekend at ________'s house." joke.

Yep. Just got called to the living room for some stink eye. (Not too bad though)

 

[vkj91]

Its not sexual abuse. Im talking to a former NW player in our groupchat right now. Ive mentioned him on here before so some probably know who im talking about.

The “dry humping” this anonymous player is talking about is basically a group bear hug. This kid who’s complaining is looking for a pay day.

Dry humping. Whatever
Hose. Whatever in 1995. No go now
Naked bare crawls. Whatever
The car wash is the deal breaker. Can’t have people forcibly having their junk touched. That wasn’t even cool 20 years ago

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

We’ll see. Again, I’m not saying there was no hazing. I’m saying that the details of what the hazing was, from the article to which I responded above, is literally unbelievable to me for the reasons I stated previously.

No player/witness has been identified publicly, so far at least, right? Everything posted to this thread has cited anonymous and/or undisclosed sources.

If there is a law firm involved, then I missed it in the links posted here. Who hired the law firm? Who do they represent?

Ultimately, I’ll wait to see what evidence a judge allows into a courtroom, or even if the witnesses are willing to testify under oath. Because right now, I think a lot of what’s being reported is probably BS.

But we’ll see. Maybe I’m wrong. I have no dog in this hunt, so I really don’t care either way.

I lean towards alot of these allegations being embellished as well. The law firm did big investigation and shared it with NW. NW didnt see it worthy of more than a slap on the wrist so we’ll see

 

[DJ Spanky]

Sometimes your take on things is very warped & scary.

Some times?

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

Dry humping. Whatever
Hose. Whatever in 1995. No go now
Naked bare crawls. Whatever
The car wash is the deal breaker. Can’t have people forcibly having their junk touched. That wasn’t even cool 20 years ago

Was the car wash the qb taking the naked snap? I agree thats a no go if forced

 

[vkj91]

Was the car wash the qb taking the naked snap? I agree thats a no go if forced

No it was lining up naked guys at shower entrance. Making them spin in circles and then anyone entering shower was in contacts with someone’s junk

 

[Plum Street]

Yeah...I know. I just didn't wanna be the one to name the school.
BTW, I was watching an NFL game this past season and I saw the star from that team playing for one of those NFL teams.

Hartsfield? He was the ring leader of that doing those vile things . Even Penn state took away his scholarship

 

[nukem]

I think now that the details are emerging the media is going to make this thing mushroom. If this thing has been going on a while, the media is going to get a hold of former players that will corroborate these stories. That will show a lack of oversight of the program by the head coach. Fitz is in big trouble I think.

 

[mildone]

It was in the article and the law firm was hired by the school as an independent third party to investigate as is often done in messy situations. The lead investigator was a woman that was Inspector General for Illinois.

And she or the law firm confirmed that there was nude contact between players as described in the local newspaper article?

Here's why I find it unbelievable as described. Because at no time, in HS, college or after, would I have either tolerated what was described as a target, or as a witness. A guy in HS picked a fight with me, he lost badly. The next Monday at school, he came back after me with 4 friends. So I left school and when I came back the next day, I brought a pipe w/me. Unfortunately, I was seen and they took my pipe away and the VP figured out what was happening while I sat in his office (I wouldn't tell him). None of the 5 kids came anywhere near me the rest of the year.

If someone tried it, I would have refused, walked away and if it was happening to others, I would've probably reported it. If they tried to force me, unless they snuck up and used restraints, they would have had to put me in the hospital to stop me defending myself and if they tried, I would've put at least a couple in the hospital before they subdued me. And after the fact, I'd go after whomever was involved. There is zero chance it would happen and NOT get out almost immediately.

I have zero problem with hazing that is done in a fun and non-sexual way, non-physical way. I received some of that; no big deal, team building stuff. But what was described is simply not something I would've tolerated. I know others who are exactly the same. And I can't imagine that, in a full CFB team, there wouldn't be several people with my attitude about it.

Maybe I'm wrong. But then NW has a team full of cowards - and I just don't believe that could possibly be true.

 

[vkj91]

I think now that the details are emerging the media is going to make this thing mushroom. If this thing has been going on a while, the media is going to get a hold of former players that will corroborate these stories. That will show a lack of oversight of the program by the head coach. Fitz is in big trouble I think.

And there is nothing else for sports people to talk about. Pretty boring time of year for sports fans.

 

[voltz99]

I'm glad they're not reporting the details and hope that continues. Not anybody's business except the people directly involved. Without such details, there's no way to reasonably reach any conclusions about it. Not that that will stop people from speculating and judging.

Not sure how this would affect anything other than to perhaps encourage coaching staffs everywhere to review their policies and procedures for detecting and handling hazing. I can't see how the suspension would affect their season unless some players or coaches wind up leaving the program over it.

Details of sexual assault in the locker should be kept quiet????


Ps. Shouldn't the police investigate? Were the police even notified?

 

[Knight Shift]

The “dry humping” was a bear hug. This kids looking for $$$.

I played qb and I can tell you on “uppers only” or helmet only practices you are basically touching your centers balls as hes only wearing small mesh shorts. You shouldnt be forcing kids to do that in the locker room but frankly thats the type of shit we did in high school as jokes, no one was forced.

anyway, when I heard “wow this is bad”, I was expecting more. It’s not good and in 2023 you cant just do the “boys being boys” which is what it is l. But I can tell you I think anyone who played even high school ball pre-social media dealt with similar or much worse. What happened at psu just a few years ago is FAR worse than what is alleged here. https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/...he-was-hazed-by-teammates.html?outputType=amp

Sounds like you may be gay or gay curious, and I am not using the word gay pejoratively. It's 2023, and it's ok to come out.

 

[nukem]

And there is nothing else for sports people to talk about. Pretty boring time of year for sports fans.

This will be talked about ad nauseam for at least the next week. We know exactly what will happen just going by the whole Coach Rice scandal and how the media beat us up. There will be a lot of pressure on Northwestern to act stronger than what they have already I think.

And the fact that Fitz is 4-20 the last 2 years and 2-16 in the B1G doesn't help his cause.

 

[rutgersguy1]

And she or the law firm confirmed that there was nude contact between players as described in the local newspaper article?

Here's why I find it unbelievable as described. Because at no time, in HS, college or after, would I have either tolerated what was described as a target, or as a witness. A guy in HS picked a fight with me, he lost badly. The next Monday at school, he came back after me with 4 friends. So I left school and when I came back the next day, I brought a pipe w/me. Unfortunately, I was seen and they took my pipe away and the VP figured out what was happening while I sat in his office (I wouldn't tell him). None of the 5 kids came anywhere near me the rest of the year.

If someone tried it, I would have refused, walked away and if it was happening to others, I would've probably reported it. If they tried to force me, unless they snuck up and used restraints, they would have had to put me in the hospital to stop me defending myself and if they tried, I would've put at least a couple in the hospital before they subdued me. And after the fact, I'd go after whomever was involved. There is zero chance it would happen and NOT get out almost immediately.

I have zero problem with hazing that is done in a fun and non-sexual way, non-physical way. I received some of that; no big deal, team building stuff. But what was described is simply not something I would've tolerated. I know others who are exactly the same. And I can't imagine that, in a full CFB team, there wouldn't be several people with my attitude about it.

Maybe I'm wrong. But then NW has a team full of cowards - and I just don't believe that could possibly be true.

I’m going to assume the players in the article were also questioned by the investigators. Do you think they told different stories to the student paper and the investigator or do you think there were numerous other accounts that discredited the reports in the papers


From the article:

Lead investigator Maggie Hickey,former inspector general of Illinois, interviewed coaches, staff, and current and former players, and reviewed thousands of documents, according to a news release by the University.

According to the release, Hickey’s investigation revealed that while current and former players “varied on their perspective” regarding the conduct, the whistleblower’s claims were “largely supported by evidence.”

Participation in or knowledge of these hazing activities, which were not detailed in the summary, was “widespread” across NU football players, the investigation found.

 

[koleszar]

Wow! Just read the eyewitness accounts of this, that were corroborated by other sources and holy sh*t is Northwestern scum. They are completely trying to cover this up. At Rutgers Greg would be gone if this happened under his watch.

 

[rutgersguy1]

And the fact that Fitz is 4-20 the last 2 years and 2-16 in the B1G doesn't help his cause.

That crossed my mind too but he’s also an alum who has done big things there as well. If he ever did get fired, I’d assume they’d elevate someone on staff as interim HC. There won’t be a replacement found this close to the start of the season.

 

[koleszar]

The “dry humping” this anonymous player is talking about is basically a group bear hug. This kid who’s complaining is looking for a pay day.

Dude, I played football for a long time and never ever have I seen or participated in a group bear hug or dry humping. Think about what would happen if this happened at Rutgers? You really think Greg gets a two week suspension in the offseason during the middle of summer?

 

[rutgersguy1]

All the sports reporters I follow have commented on it and we’ll see if it blows up or not in time.

 

[dconifer]

I’ll wait to see how it turns out. Based on the little I know about Coach Fitzgerald, I don’t believe this story.

I remember in 2018 ESPN chased down five players who didn’t make it at Maryland and were anxious to dish it out. There were quotes that made the coaching staff and program look like garbage. But no real evidence or confirmation was ever found. I don’t put much faith in testimony by anonymous ex-players.
If true, damn, heads should roll. These sound like criminal acts and should be investigated as such.

If NU really believed in this after their investigation, they wouldn’t have ended it with a 2 week suspension and training.

 

[RUforlife]

I don't expect Fitzgerald to survive these latest revelations of coerced sexual acts. It sounds way to widespread for him to claim ignorance. If they remove him in the next couple of weeks it will likely not affect how the team performs next season, however, the longer they let this linger the tougher it will be for the incoming coach to get the team prepared for their opening game. Therefore, it is my hope that this scandal lasts the whole summer.

 

[PSU_Nut]

Haha it seems to be very common in college locker rooms. Didnt happen at NW but it did at PSU. At psu they were bare dick to the facing kids as recently as 5 years ago. How franklin survived that is incredible

Former PSU football player details claims he was hazed by teammates

The latest complaint filed by Isaiah Humphries details accusations of hazing and harassment against teammates Micah Parsons, Yetur Gross-Matos, Jesse Luketa and Damion Barber. Only Barber is a defendant in the case.

t.co

You do realize it was dismissed with prejudice (meaning it was so bad they are barred from even refilling) because they couldn’t corroborate and lacked any evidence ? Anyone can make an accusation in order to get a pay day. You think Franklin should be dismissed because a disgruntled player with a history of mental illness makes a unsubstantiated accusation?

 

[Plum Street]

Sounds like you may be gay or gay curious, and I am not using the word gay pejoratively. It's 2023, and it's ok to come out.

Lol I know you’re being sarcastic.

But kyk is right . Lots of that kinda stuff went or goes down in locker rooms .

 

[Knight Shift]

Lol I know you’re being sarcastic.

But kyk is right . Lots of that kinda stuff went or goes down in locker rooms .

I was not being sarcastic.

 

[Proud NJ Sports Fan]

Lol I know you’re being sarcastic.

But kyk is right . Lots of that kinda stuff went or goes down in locker rooms .

He’s being an idiot

 

[Kbee3]

Hartsfield? He was the ring leader of that doing those vile things . Even Penn state took away his scholarship

Yeah. He played for Mississippi St. or Ole Miss.
Now he's in the League.

 

[Plum Street]

I was not being sarcastic.

I thought you were . But yeah it does. . @kyk1827 is right. He’s probably slapped or been slapped in the ass with a towel I am sure during hs football locker room sessions . At the very least , that’s the crap that used to happen . Things don’t usually go as far as what hartsfield did at Sayreville, but stuff does happen.
Now by college and nfl I would think that’s stuff is over….even with hartsfield people got over it and forgave the kid for ramming stuff

 

[Knight Shift]

I thought you were . But yeah it does. . @kyk1827 is right. He’s probably slapped or been slapped in the ass with a towel I am sure during hs football locker room sessions . At the very least , that’s the crap that used to happen . Things don’t go as far as what hartsideld did , but stuff does happen.
Now by college and nfl I would think that’s stuff is over….even with hartsfield people got over it

Laughing at the car wash speaks volumes. If a man has no problem with another man rubbing his junk on him, that's a flag.

 

[Plum Street]

Laughing at the car wash speaks volumes. If a man has no problem with another man rubbing his junk on him, that's a flag.

Red flag to what ?

 

[Knight Shift]

Red flag to what ?

Gay or at least gay curious. It's one thing for there to be incidental contact in a contact sport or work related activity. Its another to force your naked genitals against another man or vice a versa as a purportedly funny stunt and to think that this is fine and or funny.

 

[Plum Street]

Gay or at least gay curious. It's one thing for there to be incidental contact in a contact sport or work related activity. Its another to force your naked genitals against another man or vice a versa as a purportedly funny stunt and to think that this is fine and or funny.

I don’t know why being gay would be a red flag for any reason. I mean who really cares except for those few nuts on the current events board .

But I am just saying kyk is right . This stuff happens in some locker rooms

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

You do realize it was dismissed with prejudice (meaning it was so bad they are barred from even refilling) because they couldn’t corroborate and lacked any evidence ? Anyone can make an accusation in order to get a pay day. You think Franklin should be dismissed because a disgruntled player with a history of mental illness makes a unsubstantiated accusation?

I agree. Im showing it as an example. Anyone can make any accusation

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

Laughing at the car wash speaks volumes. If a man has no problem with another man rubbing his junk on him, that's a flag.

LOL

 

[rutgersguy1]

 

[nukem]

Lol I know you’re being sarcastic.

But kyk is right . Lots of that kinda stuff went or goes down in locker rooms .

If you think that what is described in this quote goes down in locker rooms, I think you're out of touch with reality.

The player also alleged that he witnessed and was forced to participate in what he called a naked center-quarterback exchange, wherein a freshman quarterback was forced to take an under-center snap from a freshman center, while both players were naked.

This, to put it mildly, is completely f_cked up. I don't see how anyone sees it any different in today's world.

 

[Ridge 22]

I don’t know why being gay would be a red flag for any reason. I mean who really cares except for those few nuts on the current events board .

But I am just saying kyk is right . This stuff happens in some locker rooms

You must be going to different locker rooms than the rest of us

 

[Knight Shift]

You must be going to different locker rooms than the rest of us

He's either being intentionally or unintentionally dense.

 

[RUforlife]

Gay or at least gay curious. It's one thing for there to be incidental contact in a contact sport or work related activity. Its another to force your naked genitals against another man or vice a versa as a purportedly funny stunt and to think that this is fine and or funny.

It sounds like you are putting a negative connotation to being gay. It almost comes across like a put down to be thought of as gay. That is a very interesting position to take in today's world. What if that poster was gay, would not that be considered a positive life choice and wouldn't we in the Rutgers community want that person to feel welcome and comfortable on this site?