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Northwestern- Fitzgerald Suspended, Now Fired Due to Hazing

"It did not measure up to what yey found on their own".

Do you trust any school to investigate themselves? Aren't schools required to notify the police when there is an allegation of a crime?
Yes, in this case I I trust the investigators more than the disgruntled, anonymous players. But most importantly, as I have said, there’s no way for me to know.

I find it odd that’s so many posters in this thread are sure that they do know, and that they are so anxious to condemn…
 
Yes, in this case I I trust the investigators more than the disgruntled, anonymous players. But most importantly, as I have said, there’s no way for me to know.

I find it odd that’s so many posters in this thread are sure that they do know, and that they are so anxious to condemn…
None of us knows anything more than what has been reported. I don't think I'm personally rushing to judgement. But I do know, going by the independent investigation, is that they did corroborate some of the allegations that the player made. So there is some truth there. How bad it is we don't fully know yet.

But knowing the way the world works nowadays, there is a good chance this blows up more given that there is some truth there. If more players past or present come out, it can become a feeding frenzy.
 
i believe someone is innocent until proven guilty, but I don’t understand the reason for the suspension. If Fitzgerald didn’t know anything, why is he being suspended for two weeks?
 
Yes, in this case I I trust the investigators more than the disgruntled, anonymous players. But most importantly, as I have said, there’s no way for me to know.

I find it odd that’s so many posters in this thread are sure that they do know, and that they are so anxious to condemn…
I think most are condemning “our posters” who think this is normal locker room stuff. True or not.
And also that we feel Fitz may be done regardless of the truth, whatever it is.
 
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Nothing in these articles leads me to believe the coaching staff knew what was going on. I don’t think a coach would be so stupid to make the hand motion that he knew was created to symbolize “time for a hazing punishment”. My hypothesis would be that it probably happened in reverse. Maybe Fitz used that motion to signify a mistake years and years ago before the hazing started. Maybe in practice - that signal could’ve meant - time to run laps or something. It would make a lot more sense for that the first group of hazers to have taken the hand signal from the coach and made a parody of it. If I had to guess, I bet Fitz uses the signal regularly and was ignorant to its meaning with respect to the hazing.
Ummmm. Been going on for several years and during practices Fitzgerald would blatantly point out freshman would made mistakes ( signaling he’s next for the hazing). Yeah sure he didn’t know. He should be fired immediately.
 
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i believe someone is innocent until proven guilty, but I don’t understand the reason for the suspension. If Fitzgerald didn’t know anything, why is he being suspended for two weeks?
For failing to have enough controls and oversight in place to ensure he would be aware of something like this. If he was aware, he would be gone already. He may be regardless
 
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For failing to have enough controls and oversight in place to ensure he would be aware of something like this. If he was aware, he would be gone already. He may be regardless
at this point they might just be gathering enough evidence to fire him with cause so they don’t have to pay him, he signed a very big deal in 2021.
 
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All the starters should be suspended for one game. Do people not understand it’s 2023.
 
This is why social media is bad. A story comes out and everyone rushes to judgement. There is so much press they need clicks. Worst case is most only know bits and pieces and take sides. Let’s take a step back and let all the facts come out.
Fair.
 
If this does blow up more which it seems like it is, it could trigger transfers out of the program if he’s let go. Firing a coach is a free pass iirc.
 
Why are all of these hazing things so sexual in nature? It makes no sense that the senior leaders of these teams would forcibly impose their sexual preferences on younger individuals. Surprised the campus LGBTQ+ orgs don’t protest this stuff more, gives a bad name for their community.
 
Why are all of these hazing things so sexual in nature? It makes no sense that the senior leaders of these teams would forcibly impose their sexual preferences on younger individuals. Surprised the campus LGBTQ+ orgs don’t protest this stuff more, gives a bad name for their community.
I posted a link above from "outsports.com." In the opinion of the founder of that site, the homoerotic hazing is rooted in "latent homosexuality and homophobia." He thinks: "the notion of forcing younger players to submit to team veterans comes right out of the handbook of anti-gay stereotypes. . . . simulating sex acts, forced sodomy with various objects – these acts work on two levels. First, they reinforce the notion that same-sex affection is weaker; the subjected men are rarely "hazed" with forced affection from someone of the opposite sex. Second, they serve to satisfy the latent homosexuality of many of the players involved."

 

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If this does blow up more which it seems like it is, it could trigger transfers out of the program if he’s let go. Firing a coach is a free pass iirc.
Yes, please:

 
If this does blow up more which it seems like it is, it could trigger transfers out of the program if he’s let go. Firing a coach is a free pass iirc.
Would you want a player who was known to be one of the ones forcing this on underclassmen?
 
Would you want a player who was known to be one of the ones forcing this on underclassmen?
At the moment, it’s unknown who did what and I don’t think the whole team participated.

I’m just saying it’s possible for the team to fall apart with transfers.
 
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Ummmm. Been going on for several years and during practices Fitzgerald would blatantly point out freshman would made mistakes ( signaling he’s next for the hazing). Yeah sure he didn’t know. He should be fired immediately.
I find that hard to believe. But yeah, if true, prosecute the hell out of it. It’s criminal…
 
At the moment, it’s unknown who did what and I don’t think the whole team participated.

I’m just saying it’s possible for the team to fall apart with transfers.
Definitely agreed that that team would crumble. Also agree that we don’t know who did what. IJS I wouldn’t touch any transfer who was known to force this hazing. That’s just me.
 
It was Ole Miss.
but he did a year at East Coast Prep after graduating Sayreville War Memorial before starting his college career.
Seems he might have needed a little distance before a college would touch him
 
I find it odd that’s so many posters in this thread are sure that they do know, and that they are so anxious to condemn…
This. None of us actually knows exactly what happened. We weren’t there. And we’ve all seen news reports wind up being misleading.

Why the great rush to judge?
 
Because we face them in 8 weeks? Why not feed them into the wood chipper? We've been there, time to revel in the misery of others.
That’s probably the biggest reason.

But I don’t like hearing it’s only 8 weeks. ☹️
 
Coaches tend to not know what's going on in their team's locker room. They tacitly know there's hazing going on, but they look the other way. It's been mentioned upthread that "sexual assault builds bonds" and if you asked these highly successful coaches off the record they would agree. It's sick and it's sad, and it's commonplace. When it is brought up to the coaching staff, the coaches will dance around the subject, talking about how the locker room belongs to The Team, and the activities are Team activities, and anything untoward should be brought up to Team Captains to handle it...as if the team captains aren't participating or ringleading that sh*t.
None of that exonerates the coaching staff of responsibility. Just a matter of time before Fitz & Co are tossed.
 
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None of that exonerates the coaching staff of responsibility. Just a matter of time before Fitz & Co are tossed.
If the stories are true, it should not exonerate Pat and wasn't my intent to try to do so. When I got hazed on my high school lacrosse team, and spoke to the coaches about it, they did everything they could to deny knowledge of it, refused to acknowledge my report, and gave me the song & dance about The Team and to handle it with the captains. I quit instead. Hazing is fked up, and when the adults who are paid to keep a locker room full of athletes in line refuse to do so & prefer to let the inmates run the asylum, disasters happen.
 
Because we face them in 8 weeks? Why not feed them into the wood chipper? We've been there, time to revel in the misery of others.
If the worst allegations turn out to be true, then the program deserves to be judged. But there are plenty of reasons to be suspicious of the more extreme allegations.

If the worst allegation are true, there will probably be arrests. I’m not about to convict anybody based on tweets and media reports.
 
If the stories are true, it should not exonerate Pat and wasn't my intent to try to do so. When I got hazed on my high school lacrosse team, and spoke to the coaches about it, they did everything they could to deny knowledge of it, refused to acknowledge my report, and gave me the song & dance about The Team and to handle it with the captains. I quit instead. Hazing is fked up, and when the adults who are paid to keep a locker room full of athletes in line refuse to do so & prefer to let the inmates run the asylum, disasters happen.
Piss poor leadership. Disasters happened at Sayreville and Wall HS.
 
This is real, but a gross over reaction.
Agree that nobody should get tossed based on media accounts. A full investigation should not take long. If the picture of the of whiteboard is indeed real, a simple task is to question Fitz and each of the coaches about it, and that item will be hard to dance around.

RU fans should all sign. Sweep the leg Johnny
 
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If the stories are true, it should not exonerate Pat and wasn't my intent to try to do so. When I got hazed on my high school lacrosse team, and spoke to the coaches about it, they did everything they could to deny knowledge of it, refused to acknowledge my report, and gave me the song & dance about The Team and to handle it with the captains. I quit instead. Hazing is fked up, and when the adults who are paid to keep a locker room full of athletes in line refuse to do so & prefer to let the inmates run the asylum, disasters happen.
What type of hazing was done to you
 
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