The scandal involving the alleged hazing among football players at Northwestern University that recently got the football head coach Pat Fitzgerald terminated has revealed other accusations from former student-athletes at the school.
According to The Daily Northwestern, three former university athletes stated there was a “culture of enabling racism” while participating on the school’s team. The racism was received from other football players and the staff at Northwestern University. Allegedly, Fitzgerald was well aware of the antics, although he has publicly denied knowing.
The three former players spoke to the media outlet about their troubling experience at the school.
“We never felt like we could be ourselves. We had to fit in by being white or acting white or laughing at our own people.”
“Those are two phrases you would hear a lot around the program that referred to the sentiment of ‘fall in line,’” the player revealed. “If you were not in line with the “Wildcat Way,” Coach Fitz or any one of the coaches will be quick to say like, ‘yeah, check your scholarship.”
An additional Black former player who was also an offensive lineman said that he recalls the head coach Fitzgerald asking a coaching staff member to cut off his dreadlocks.
“There was a certain culture of enabling racism and other microaggressions that I had to experience and that other offensive linemen that were people of color had to experience,” the second player stated.
University spokesperson Jon Yates told The Daily that the allegations were unknown to the school before this latest scandal.
“The alleged ‘racist commentary and behavior toward non-white players’ by Coach Fitzgerald and members of his staff would be entirely unacceptable and inconsistent with our culture and values, if true,” Yates wrote in an email to the publication. “As we do with any allegation, we will immediately address the accusations, and any findings will be considered.”
The school has been caught up in a scandal that accuses the staff and teammates of hazing players, sexual assault, and other infractions supported by evidence after an internal investigation. Initially, the school suspended the head coach but recently terminated his job after discovering testimonies like those revealed by the players mentioned above.
Source: Black Enterprise
