Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Northwestern athletic director blasts football staffers for 'tone deaf' shirts supporting Fitzgerald

Northwestern athletic director Derrick Gragg blasted assistant football coaches and staff members for wearing shirts supporting fired coach Pat Fitzgerald at practice Wednesday, calling them “inappropriate, offensive and tone deaf” given the hazing and abuse scandal engulfing the football program and other teams

Andrew Seligman
Wednesday 09 August 2023 21:30 BST

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Northwestern athletic director Derrick Gragg blasted assistant football coaches and staff members for wearing shirts supporting fired coach Pat Fitzgerald at practice Wednesday, calling them “inappropriate, offensive and tone deaf” given the hazing and abuse scandal engulfing the program and other teams.

“Let me be crystal clear,” he said in a statement. “Hazing has no place at Northwestern, and we are committed to do whatever is necessary to address hazing-related issues, including thoroughly investigating any incidents or allegations of hazing or any misconduct.”

Gragg said he and the university were unaware that they owned the black shirts with “ Cats Against the World ” and Fitzgerald’s old number “51” in purple type or would wear them at practice. He issued the statement after interim coach David Braun called it a free speech issue and said his focus was on supporting his players and staff rather than whether the shirts were tone deaf.

“My purpose and my intentionality is gonna be solely based on supporting these young men, supporting this staff, making sure that my actions align with making sure that this fall is an incredible experience for them,” interim coach David Braun said Wednesday after the first practice open to media. “It certainly isn’t my business to censor anybody’s free speech.”

Northwestern is facing more than a dozen lawsuits across multiple sports with allegations including sexual abuse by teammates as well as racist comments by coaches and race-based assaults. The cases span from 2004 to 2022, and attorneys representing some of the athletes who have already sued say more are coming.

Fitzgerald, who was fired after 17 seasons, has maintained he had no knowledge of hazing within his program. President Michael Schill and Gragg have largely limited their public comments to statements issued in news releases and, other than a handful of interviews, not answered questions from reporters.

Players were made available Wednesday for the first time since the allegations of hazing abuse surfaced. Linebacker Bryce Gallagher, defensive back Rod Heard II and receiver Bryce Kirtz expressed support for Fitzgerald and defended the culture of the program while declining to discuss the specific allegations.

___

AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in