Northwestern Scandal: The Daily Northwestern Student Paper Scooped Its Own University In Investigation Of Pat Fitzgerald That Led To Firing

Northwestern University president Michael Schill may be reading The Daily Northwestern more often now, if he was not already.

It's just a student newspaper on the campus in Evanston, Illinois, near Chicago. Most of the reporters, writers and editors are undergraduates. Teenagers. But it's a damn good paper - one of the best college student newspapers in the nation. It is a product of the Medill School of Journalism, one of the best, if not the best in the nation.

The Daily Northwestern Is No Novice Newspaper

Since 2000, The Daily Northwestern has won 11 Pacemaker Awards, which is the Pulitzer Prize for college papers and has been around since 1927.

Former Northwestern head football coach Pat Fitzgerald leads his team against Rutgers in 2018 when the Wildcats won the Big Ten West at 8-1 and finished 9-5 overall. (Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images)

And last Saturday, The Daily Northwestern got Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald fired deservedly.

Pat Fitzgerald Given Slap On The Wrist On Friday

He wasn't fired until Monday, and Northwestern president Michael Schill did that.

But without a story by The Daily Northwestern on Saturday under the headline, "Former NU football player details hazing allegations after coach suspension," Fitzgerald is still the Wildcats' coach.

Period.

On Friday, Schill only suspended Fitzgerald for two weeks without pay beginning immediately in July after an "investigation" into reports of hazing of players by players. This was a slap on the wrist. Very little goes on in college football in July.

Northwestern said its investigation led by attorney Maggie Hickey of the ArentFox Schiff law firm of Chicago did not find "sufficient evidence" that the coaching staff knew about ongoing hazing.

One day later, The Daily Northwestern student writers/editors Nicole Markus, Alyce Brown, Cole Reynolds and Divya Bhardwaj found enough evidence to sufficiently turn Schill's head. And they got him thinking apparently more than did the work of Hickey, a former Illinois inspector general. She supposedly interviewed Northwestern coaches, staff, and current and former players along with reviewing "thousands of documents," according to a Northwestern news release.

The Daily Northwestern interviewed two current football players for the Saturday story without naming them. These players apparently came to The Daily Northwestern, but the paper had enough sense to take it from there, ask the right questions and get the story. The reporters and editors there also did not look the other way and ignore the players as many homers would have done at other student papers and websites and all papers and websites, particularly those that cover the SEC.

Was the investigating law firm and Northwestern as open and forthright with their information as the student paper? Doesn't look like it.

Northwestern Sure Did An About Face From Friday

On Monday when Schill fired Fitzgerald, he said, "During the investigation, 11 current or former football student-athletes acknowledged that hazing has been ongoing within the football program."

Why didn't you say that Friday, Mr. Schill? Was Northwestern trying to hide what it already knew? Did Northwestern suddenly realize its own newspaper may have more where its Saturday story came from? 

One player said that Fitzgerald knew about the practice of "running." And this was nothing like wind sprints or climbing stadium steps, which are more common disciplinary tactics in football.

The player said "running" happened often in August camp and would involve eight to 10 upper classmen dressed in satanic masks "dry humping" players in a dark locker room. The more experienced players would identify those making mistakes and deserving of "running" by clapping their hands above their heads at practice. The Daily Northwestern obtained video of this practice along with pictures of players' names listed on whiteboards designated for "running."

Fitzgerald did this same clapping signal for "running" candidates, the player said, "encouraging" the hazing to continue.

"Everyone would just be looking at each other and be like 'Bro, Fitz knows about this,'" the anonymous player said. "Everyone joins in, because he’s the head coach."

He went on.

Hazing By Football Players Detailed

"It’s a shocking experience as a freshman to see your fellow freshman teammates get ran," he said. "But then you see everybody standing by in the locker room. It’s just a really abrasive and barbaric culture that has permeated throughout that program for years on end now. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, and it’s just absolutely egregious and vile and inhumane behavior."

The player also listed other sexually oriented hazing. Freshmen had to get naked and crawl. They had to participate in a "car wash" by spinning around naked in front of showers while teammates entered the shower. And there was the center-quarterback exchange with both players naked.

"It’s done under this smoke and mirror of ‘Oh, this is team bonding,’" the player said. "But no, this is sexual abuse."

A second player not identified by the paper told of the same incidents.

President Schill never actually said he read the above Saturday story, but on Saturday night, he released an email to the Northwestern University community.

Northwestern President Said He 'May Have Erred'

"After reviewing the report, I assessed a two-week suspension for Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald (on Friday), which went into effect immediately," he wrote. "However, upon reflection, I believe I may have erred in weighing the appropriate sanction for Coach Fitzgerald. In determining an appropriate penalty for the head coach, I focused too much on what the report concluded he didn’t know and not enough on what he should have known."

Schill concluded by saying, "In the days ahead, I will engage with University leadership, including the Board of Trustees as well as the leadership of the Faculty Senate, and will keep you abreast of any developments as I assess future steps."

That future step was Fitzgerald's firing.

Schill "released his updated message after former players came forward with details of the alleged hazing Saturday," a The Daily Northwestern story said Sunday morning. "Two former players alleged that Fitzgerald had knowledge of some of these instances and made signals in reference to the hazing during practice."

The Daily Northwestern Got The Ball Rolling

On Monday, Schill did praise journalism, but he was not specific.

"In new media reporting today, still more former Northwestern football student-athletes confirmed that hazing was systemic dating back many years," he said.

Whatever reporting he is talking about may not have happened without the Saturday story by The Daily Northwestern.

Schill also made this comment Monday about his school's six-month investigaton.

"I only recently learned many of the details," he said.

Yes, from your students, who work at your university's student newspaper.

I'm wondering how much Northwestern and Mr. Schill paid the Arentfox Schiff law firm for an investigation that proved somewhat errant.

And I'm thinking Mr. Schill could read The Daily Northwestern regularly for a lot less.