Was Pat Fitzgerald wrongly framed in the recent hazing allegations? Decorated Northwestern HC draws support from the university's student-athletes

Pat Fitzgerald might face harsher sanctions for the recent hazing allegations within the Northwestern team. The university had initially suspended the coach for two weeks without pay after a six-month investigation found evidence against him.

A widespread public backlash followed the announcement of the disciplinary action by the university. However, the president of Northwestern, Michael Schill, said he will reassess the suspension of the longstanding coach of the football program.

Nonetheless, current and former players are expressing their support for Fitzgerald. A statement released by football players pushed back against the allegations, claiming the situation is exaggerated and twisted.

This is leading to the belief that Pat Fitzgerald might be wrongly framed in the allegations. The players said in the statement that the coach had no knowledge of the alleged incident. This is giving the saga a whole new look.

A player claims the plan was to bring down Pat Fitzgerald

On Sunday, an anonymous current Northwestern player told ESPN that the allegation was aimed at Pat Fitzgerald. He claimed the former player, whose hazing allegations triggered the investigation in late 2022, had a comprehensive strategy aimed at ousting the coach.

The player said that earlier this year he had a conversation with the former player who detailed the hazing allegation. He also said that he relayed the details of that conversation to Northwestern trustees and other influential figures within the university.

He believes the whistleblower's goal is to see Pat Fitzgerald lose his job and be sentenced to jail. He further said that none of the allegations occurred in the team. In his words:

"He just kept emphasizing, 'Yeah, it'll be OK. I'm just trying to get Coach Fitz fired.’ I don't think he ever acknowledged what he's saying is not true. It was just like, 'I might embellish or exaggerate to get Coach Fitz fired.' He said his sole goal was to see Coach Fitz rot in jail. The truth is none of that stuff happened in our locker room."

The player further said the whistleblower informed him that if the university's investigation did not lead to Fitzgerald's dismissal, he would make detailed allegations public. He mentioned that the whistleblower referenced the Mike Polisky situation in 2021.

"He was thinking he could do the same with Coach Fitz, if he went to The Daily Northwestern and went public with it," the player said.

The comments by a current team member further complicates the ongoing saga. At this stage, it will be crucial for Northwestern to conduct further investigation in order to find details before deciding the right sanction for Pat Fitzgerald.