Northwestern Head Coach Won't Censor Free Speech After Football Staff Supports Pat Fitzgerald With Motivational Shirts

Northwestern University continues to deal with the fallout from a hazing scandal that rocked the football program and ultimately led to the firing Pat Fitzgerald. Now, just a few weeks later, the Wildcats staff appears to be showing its support for their former head coach.

Fitzgerald, who played at Northwestern from 1993-96, was hired by his alma mater in 2006. He was the youngest head coach on the FBS level at the time and accumulated a record of 11-101. His tenure included two Big Ten West Division titles and bowl wins in four of the last seven years.

For the Wildcats to have any success in the Big Ten is a tall task. To win 10 games, like they did in 2012, 2015 and 2017 far exceeds expectations.

However, over the last month and a half, the culture at Northwestern under Fitzgerald came under fire.

The hazing investigation came to an end at the beginning of July. Fitzgerald was suspended, but kept his job at first.

That changed after reporting from the student newspaper. Fitzgerald was let go.

There is still a long way to go before the dust settles. Lawsuits have been filed against the university and its athletic department, which go beyond just the football team. Fitzgerald will dig further into his legal rights as well.

In the meantime, the Wildcats have a season to play— with, essentially, two head coaches.

Northwestern football players penned a letter in support of Fitzgerald prior to his ouster. The statement was signed by the ENTIRE team.

Now, it appears as though some of the coaches are also throwing support behind Fitzgerald.

A group of Northwestern staffers, including offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian, wore shirts that seemed to honor the fired coach during practice on Wednesday. The shirts read "Cats Against the World" included the number 51.

Fitzgerald wore No. 51 during his All-American career in Evanston.

Interim head coach David Braun had the following to say after practice:

It certainly isn't my business to censor anyone's free speech.

When asked if the shirts are tone deaf, Braun said that his energy is being focused on supporting the players and his staff. He did not elaborate further.