Big Ten Roundup (July 20): Northwestern Facing Lawsuits in Hazing Scandal Fallout

After firing Pat Fitzgerald on July 10, Northwestern has faced more and more fallout from its hazing scandal. On Wednesday, multiple prosecuting attorneys held press conferences to address the impending lawsuits to be taken up against defendants at Northwestern University, and it was reported that a third plaintiff had been added to the case.

The Northwestern hazing scandal began with Pat Fitzgerald and the Northwestern football team, but it has expanded to address multiple teams and multiple people within the athletic department and the overall institution.

With one lawsuit already filed against the university, a second and third lawsuit are expected to be filed on Thursday, addressing allegations of hazing within three different sports programs at Northwestern — football, baseball and softball — and lists current ACC Commissioner and former Northwestern Athletic Director Jim Phillips as a defendant.

Here's everything you need to know in today's Big Ten Roundup:

Northwestern Hazing Scandal Fallout Continues

Less than two weeks ago, Northwestern's administration announced that Pat Fitzgerald would be suspended for two weeks without pay following an investigation into the allegations of hazing within the program conducted by a third-party law firm, and assumed that the matter would end later. 

Instead, Northwestern has fired both Fitzgerald and baseball coach Jim Foster, lost its top ranked football recruit in the entire class of 2023 to the transfer portal and is staring down the barrel of multiple lawsuits from former athletes in multiple athletic programs. 

BREAKING: A third lawsuit is expected to be filed Thursday against Northwestern, admins, Pat Fitzgerald & ACC commish Jim Phillips. It joins one pending filing & another already filed all by one legal team.

A second legal team is also working on a suit. https://t.co/zwJL5aSttJ

— Richard🇬🇾Johnson (@RJ_cfb) July 20, 2023

As first reported by Sports Illustrated's Richard Johnson, a third lawsuit is going to be filed against the university, addressing hazing and a toxic culture within the Northwestern athletic department specific to the football, baseball and softball teams. 

“It involved scores of athletes over a long period of time in a very public form,” said attorney Steve Levin, addressing his plaintiff's lawsuit against Northwestern on Wednesday. 

Additionally, attorney Parker Stinar said that, "It's not just one program, it's not just one coach." Though Northwestern football and Pat Fitzgerald are at the center of the hazing allegations and the toxic environment that the defendants are being sued for, that they are not the only alleged perpetrators in the case. 

The entire saga is a tangled mess and can be better understood by reading Johnson's full story on Sports Illustrated. 

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