Northwestern fires coach Pat Fitzgerald after hazing allegations surface with football team-May Have Started in Kenosha
Pete Serzant, WLIP News
KENOSHA, WI (WLIP)–The alleged hazing scandal that brought down Northwestern’s football coach may have started in Kenosha.
Northwestern fired coach Pat Fitzgerald yesterday amid allegations of sexualized hazing of freshmen team members who made mistakes on the field.
The school also announced that it will no longer send its football team to UW-Parkside for summer training camp as it has since the 1990’s.
Fitzgerald began a two-week suspension on Friday after the school said an investigation by a law firm did not find “sufficient” evidence that the coaching staff knew about ongoing hazing — though there were “significant opportunities” 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.
Reports say that Northwestern confirmed that the incidents may have started during the Kenosha practices.
The report also indicated that Fitzgerald “may have known that hazing took place.” “Camp Kenosha” as the practices were known has been “permanently discontinued.”
The AP contributed to this report