What is it about the city of Chicago not being able to treat their athletes as human beings, instead of abusing them and bringing the entire program or franchise down in their trail?!
Fitzgerald was initially suspended two weeks without pay by Northwestern, but several former players called for his removal once the allegations went public on Sunday morning. The school announced later Sunday evening that they would re-evaluate the severity of the punishment, but only after ESPN picked up and began to run with the developments.
We as a people know full well that certain details do not remain buried very long, as is evident with the rush of details coming in droves daily concerning a disgraced former President. The Kyle Beech saga with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks stunted a player’s career, while a Hall-of-Fame caliber head coach (Joel Quenville) and the team’s General Manager (Stan Bowman) were not only fired, but suspended indefinitely by the league.
Fitzgerald will coach again at some level, as we saw that Sean Payton was given the most lucrative head coaching contract in NFL history a few months ago by the Denver Broncos. Payton was involved in a scandal where his own New Orleans Saints’ players and coaches were receiving financial “bounties” for injuring opposing players during games. Payton was suspended the entire 2012 NFL season, just three years after his Saints won their lone Super Bowl Championship (XLIV - 2009).
The irony of the sexual abuse details releasing to the public at Northwestern came on the same day that Larry Nassar was reported to have been stabbed multiple times while in a maximum security federal prison. While Fitzgerald did not commit said acts personally, and his players were over 18, he reportedly issued the “Code Red” that allowed others to execute the acts.
Some of these acts committed against mainly freshmen were reported by ESPN to be running naked through a row of sprinklers resembling a car wash, executing the center snap while naked, and being dry-humped by upperclassmen.
While Fitzgerald may be an old-school coach, Northwestern is one of the highest-esteemed academic institutions in the country. The football team may not be playing for conference championships each year, but this is the one school where such a scandal could never be swept under the rug. The Northwestern journalism program may be tops in the country, and their law school might have several current students who use this as coursework when trying to pass the bar exam.
Since the Wildcats began playing football in 1882, no coach had a longer tenure than Fitzgerald. Their 1-11 record in 2022 leaves the door open for a lot of improvement, which the Wildcats were expected to show this coming season. In making a bowl game 10 times in 16 seasons, the Wildcats never went more than two years without a postseason game, despite occurring three times. In fact, Northwestern won almost as many bowl games under Fitzgerald (five) as appearances in program history before his arrival in 2006 (six).
The reporting was done by a school-commissioned investigator, but no credible evidence was found to support the student’s allegations. Remember when the NFL led their own investigation into the DeShaun Watson allegations, no criminal charges were filed, despite multiple violations listed in the final report by arbiter Sue Robinson. Watson was still suspended 11 games, and Robinson is quoted in her ruling as saying he “poses a genuine danger to the safety and well-being of another person.”
The first person who answers why this is still an issue in sports in 2023 wins the common sense award for the month.
-JC24