Ex-Northwestern QB Lloyd Yates in disbelief over university's hazing scandal, "A lot of coaches took part in it"

Northwestern has been the talk of college football recently, more precisely after Lloyd Yates brought some major concerns into light. The program fired coach Pat Fitzgerald after an investigation over allegations of abuse and hazing in the program.

Since then, former players have come out and confirmed the abuse and hazing. One of them is former quarterback and wide receiver Lloyd Yates, who confirmed the abuse and even revealed that waterboarding did take place.

The hazing and abuse reportedly happened for years, so Yates doesn't believe that none of the coaches knew what was going on.

"I find it hard to believe that (coaches) were not aware of what was taking place," Lloyd Yates said during a news conference.

"A lot of coaches took part in it in many different manners, and the explicit behavior was so explicit. It was loud. It took place in close proximity to where a lot of the staff, trainers were located. It's kind of hard to take a blind eye."

Yates declined to comment on if coaches took part in the hazing and abuse but did say that coaches knew that it was happening. The former quarterback also admitted that it's tough for former players to come forward and relive the trauma of what happened inside the locker room.

"It's not easy for any of us to come forward," Yates said. "A lot of this stuff is embarrassing; it's painful, and we know that we're making ourselves targets for criticism.

"But we feel strongly that we must do our part to make sure that this type of behavior is not just at Northwestern but throughout college sports. We're here to support and validate the accusations of the current Northwestern whistleblowers regarding the true abusive nature of hazing."

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Lloyd Yates says it was difficult for people of color at Northwestern

Ex Northwestern QB Lloyd Yates

Not only were the hazing and abuse difficult, but Lloyd Yates added that the hazing targeted people of color. Yates, who is black, said that some players contemplated suicide after all the hazing and abuse.

The investigation and lawsuit are underway, and it does seem likely that Northwestern could eventually join the long list of American universities making large payouts following allegations of sexual abuse.

It's also expected that more lawsuits will come from former players who are yet to come forward about hazing incidents at the program.