Northwestern’s motion to dismiss the wrongful termination lawsuit brought by former coach Pat Fitzgerald was denied today, Fitz seeking $130MM.

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GopherGrit said:
I will claim that many exist, but none of those had stories published about them.

I'm fine leaving it at that. Would I change your mind, any way, even if I disproved the "Every single AD.." claim?

I don't think that would change your mind that NW was in the right and that they correctly fired Fitz for cause. I believe you want that to be true. What I don't understand, is why.
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Yes. I would change my mind that people firing anyone involved in hazing if you could find a single example of not firing the coach in charge of a program with hazing.

The fact Fitzgerald settled with an agreement that says there was hazing in the program is why he is gone.


I am sure he got a buyout far greater than zero. So I guess I disagree with your assessment of my position. I don’t think they ended up firing him for cause (meaning they had to pay him out to some degree imo)
 

Some guy said:
Yes. I would change my mind that people firing anyone involved in hazing if you could find a single example of not firing the coach in charge of a program with hazing.

The fact Fitzgerald settled with an agreement that says there was hazing in the program is why he is gone.


I am sure he got a buyout far greater than zero. So I guess I disagree with your assessment of my position. I don’t think they ended up firing him for cause (meaning they had to pay him out to some degree imo)
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Changing your mind about everyone fires any coach that has hazing, isn't important.

What matters is if you think Fitz should have been fired simply because hazing occurred. And then the legal point is if such a thing rises up to a "for cause", if it was provable that he didn't know about it.

Very clear to me NW knew it would lose the legal case. That's why they settled.

The "moral" case, if you will ... I guess is more subjective.
 

Some guy said:
Yes. I would change my mind that people firing anyone involved in hazing if you could find a single example of not firing the coach in charge of a program with hazing.

The fact Fitzgerald settled with an agreement that says there was hazing in the program is why he is gone.


I am sure he got a buyout far greater than zero. So I guess I disagree with your assessment of my position. I don’t think they ended up firing him for cause (meaning they had to pay him out to some degree imo)
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If he was fired for cause it would be unusual to pay. If he was fired without cause he would be owed remuneration.
 

Some guy said:
All you do is find one? Not all of them?
You are the one asking me to find all of them


Find one case of hazing where the coach is kept in the country and I am proven wrong
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James Franklin was accused of allowing hazing at Penn State. There was an investigation. The results was inconclusive evidence that it happened and no evidence Franklin was aware of it. He was not fired or disciplined.

A few from High School:

Unnamed CoachesWatertown High School (Massachusetts)SuspendedFollowing the exposure of a long-standing hazing tradition at a football camp, three coaches and five players were suspended.
Unnamed CoachesSayreville High School (New Jersey)Indefinitely suspendedAfter the arrest of seven players in connection with a hazing scandal, coaches were indefinitely suspended. However, many parents and players supported the coaches, arguing they were not at fault.

There are more rumors/allegations in college (even PJ got a little of that) but nothing were it was reported there was hazing and nothing was done about it.
 

One more for you, Hockey, not football.
  • In September 2023, BGSU announced an investigation into an alleged hazing incident at an off-campus event involving multiple members of the hockey team: underage drinking, older team members providing alcohol to younger, plus potential conduct causing humiliation or emotional/physical harm. Bowling Green State University+2BG Falcon Media+2
  • According to the university statement:
    “…the University’s review … suggests that no member of the BGSU Hockey staff had any direct or indirect knowledge of the off-campus event.” Bowling Green State University+1
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  • The coach, Ty Eigner, was placed on administrative leave during the investigation; the team underwent sanctions and the coach was reinstated once the review was complete. BG Falcon Media+1
  • The university also announced additional oversight and training for the program as part of its response.
 


caliGopher said:
James Franklin was accused of allowing hazing at Penn State. There was an investigation. The results was inconclusive evidence that it happened and no evidence Franklin was aware of it. He was not fired or disciplined.

A few from High School:

Unnamed CoachesWatertown High School (Massachusetts)SuspendedFollowing the exposure of a long-standing hazing tradition at a football camp, three coaches and five players were suspended.
Unnamed CoachesSayreville High School (New Jersey)Indefinitely suspendedAfter the arrest of seven players in connection with a hazing scandal, coaches were indefinitely suspended. However, many parents and players supported the coaches, arguing they were not at fault.

There are more rumors/allegations in college (even PJ got a little of that) but nothing were it was reported there was hazing and nothing was done about it.
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I mean links to these stories would have me more confident than AI copy and paste


I was not attempting to claim that nobody has ever survived being accused of hazing. These two high school cases would prove me wrong in what I said if they are accurate
 

caliGopher said:
One more for you, Hockey, not football.
  • In September 2023, BGSU announced an investigation into an alleged hazing incident at an off-campus event involving multiple members of the hockey team: underage drinking, older team members providing alcohol to younger, plus potential conduct causing humiliation or emotional/physical harm. Bowling Green State University+2BG Falcon Media+2
  • According to the university statement:
  • The coach, Ty Eigner, was placed on administrative leave during the investigation; the team underwent sanctions and the coach was reinstated once the review was complete. BG Falcon Media+1
  • The university also announced additional oversight and training for the program as part of its response.
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The link says the university made no final determination of the allegations

Meaning they did not determine that the allegations were true
 

swede2 said:
If he was fired for cause it would be unusual to pay. If he was fired without cause he would be owed remuneration.
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Yeah. We will never know but logic would say they settled for somewhere between zero and the buyout number.
The fact that the settlement said northwestern could publicly state hazing did occur within the program tells me it likely wasn’t the entirely of the buyout they ended up paying. Or maybe it was. We will never know.

It certainly wasn’t more than the buyout. In the initial story northwestern never claimed Fitzgerald knew about the hazing. Meaning in the end the settlement allowed northwestern to allege exactly what they alleged the whole time.
 

Some guy said:
I mean links to these stories would have me more confident than AI copy and paste


I was not attempting to claim that nobody has ever survived being accused of hazing. These two high school cases would prove me wrong in what I said if they are accurate
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Yup. Move the goal posts. Since you can't seem to use the internet, I found a few examples for you.
 



caliGopher said:
Yup. Move the goal posts. Since you can't seem to use the internet, I found a few examples for you.
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How did I move the goalposts by saying I’m wrong if those stories actually exist?

You didn’t find examples. You wrote examples that didn’t have sources

Feel free to link a source if it exists
 
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Some guy said:
How did I move the goalposts by saying I’m wrong if those stories actually exist?

You didn’t find examples. You wrote examples that didn’t have sources

Feel free to link a source if it exists
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Your sense of entitlement knows no bounds, does it?

Here's another link on the Bowling Green issue which is tied more closely to your opinions above.

I'm sure you'll note that the punishments for the students weren't handed out again, but try to comprehend the rest of the sentences in the article.

For kicks and giggles, I've also included this tutorial for you to help you enter the 21st Century.

Once you master that, try this one.

We live in an age where information is accessible to anyone. You just type in a question and viola! It's like magic.
 

As of Nov 7, 2025 still no charges filed, to my knowledge. Has there even been a legitimate investigation of the alleged sexual abuse (I don’t consider the former attorney general for hire quick and dirty review in that group).

I’d guess many have garnered six figure settlements regardless of the facts or the truth such as it is.

A lot of this still doesn’t add up, and never will.
 

caliGopher said:
Your sense of entitlement knows no bounds, does it?

Here's another link on the Bowling Green issue which is tied more closely to your opinions above.

I'm sure you'll note that the punishments for the students weren't handed out again, but try to comprehend the rest of the sentences in the article.

For kicks and giggles, I've also included this tutorial for you to help you enter the 21st Century.

Once you master that, try this one.

We live in an age where information is accessible to anyone. You just type in a question and viola! It's like magic.
Click to expand...

caliGopher said:
Your sense of entitlement knows no bounds, does it?

Here's another link on the Bowling Green issue which is tied more closely to your opinions above.

I'm sure you'll note that the punishments for the students weren't handed out again, but try to comprehend the rest of the sentences in the article.

For kicks and giggles, I've also included this tutorial for you to help you enter the 21st Century.

Once you master that, try this one.

We live in an age where information is accessible to anyone. You just type in a question and viola! It's like magic.
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Thanks for providing a link to prove Me wrong

At bowling green you can have hazing in your program and survive as head coach the first link you provided on bowling green didn’t show the conclusion of the investigation


Thanks for the link on how to google things. It wasn’t that I couldn’t google, it was that I wasn’t trying to prove anything…
 



Last 3 year's record got PF "fired" through what supposedly took place at NW. They wanted out of what they thought was a bad contract. NW's admin thought it it wouldnt have to pay the buyout if the could get this to stick. Problem was 2 Fold:

1. Recent bad record or not, PF was the "local hero" and had more clout than the admin judged.
2. The evidence of him being involved was circumstantial at best.

End result - NW was made to look petty, PF gets mint, and nothing was really proven.
 

akgo4 said:
Last 3 year's record got PF "fired" through what supposedly took place at NW. They wanted out of what they thought was a bad contract. NW's admin thought it it wouldnt have to pay the buyout if the could get this to stick. Problem was 2 Fold:

1. Recent bad record or not, PF was the "local hero" and had more clout than the admin judged.
2. The evidence of him being involved was circumstantial at best.

End result - NW was made to look petty, PF gets mint, and nothing was really proven.
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It was not proven but was accepted by PF there was hazing in his program.

This was the only thing alleged against PF by the university. They never alleged he knew about it.
 

I wouldn’t hire him coming off all of that and I think it’s bullshit that he acts like he has completely clean hands. He certainly knew a lot of what was going on and if he didn’t, then that’s a lack of institutional control on his part. He certainly came out of this better than I think he should have.
 




The things we get upset about….

As bad as teasing, taunting, harassing, and hazing can be I wouldn’t expect any administrator, educator, manager, or coach to understand or know about, even a tenth of it - with the caveat if discovered or reported something should be investigated and actually done about it. What kind of police state would allow that kind of all-knowing knowledge of negative behavior, I don’t want to contemplate. Some of you must live in a pretty blissful utopian ignorance of how young boys and men behave which is fine but don’t fool yourselves. It’s happening.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
The things we get upset about….

As bad as teasing, taunting, harassing, and hazing can be I wouldn’t expect any administrator, educator, manager, or coach to understand or know about, even a tenth of it - with the caveat if discovered or reported something should be investigated and actually done about it. What kind of police state would allow that kind of all-knowing knowledge of negative behavior, I don’t want to contemplate. Some of you must live in a pretty blissful utopian ignorance of how young boys and men behave which is fine but don’t fool yourselves. It’s happening.
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Do you think that in today’s world they just throw the keys to the locker room, et al to the players and say have at it like they did back and say the Boz’ time at OU? There are coaches and administrators and miscellaneous folks all over the locker room and the office area and the weight room and every other spot you can think about it so it’s not like these kids are in a vacuum anymore. Go out to Gopher Sports and count how many people are part of the program the last time I looked I think there’s like 30 of them.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
The things we get upset about….

As bad as teasing, taunting, harassing, and hazing can be I wouldn’t expect any administrator, educator, manager, or coach to understand or know about, even a tenth of it - with the caveat if discovered or reported something should be investigated and actually done about it. What kind of police state would allow that kind of all-knowing knowledge of negative behavior, I don’t want to contemplate. Some of you must live in a pretty blissful utopian ignorance of how young boys and men behave which is fine but don’t fool yourselves. It’s happening.
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For sure. This was just teasing
There is no teasing at any other programs which is why nothing has come out anywhere else 😂
 

Gopherchase said:
Do you think that in today’s world they just throw the keys to the locker room, et al to the players and say have at it like they did back and say the Boz’ time at OU? There are coaches and administrators and miscellaneous folks all over the locker room and the office area and the weight room and every other spot you can think about it so it’s not like these kids are in a vacuum anymore. Go out to Gopher Sports and count how many people are part of the program the last time I looked I think there’s like 30 of them.
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Do they live in the locker room?

I don’t know, maybe.
 





Some guy said:
When was there a hazing case at Mn?
Did the coach survive it?
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I agree that if it occurred grown males a**-grabbing, doing the carwash, doing naked pull ups is totally inappropriate. It's lewd, lascivious, salacious, outrageous. It’s full-on quasi-gay behavior, not that there’s anything wrong with that.

What’s worse than hazing? Ignoring or exacerbating injuries, alleged toxic culture. Do you believe it, Guy? I tend not to fully buy these kinds of allegations but who knows- there could be a kernel of truth in there as well sometimes. There are plenty of ***holes walking amongst us.


www.cbsnews.com

Unnecessary Roughness? Former Gophers Claim Tough Practices Ended Football Careers

Former Gopher athletes have come forward with allegations of tough football practices that ended their careers -- and they're not alone.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com
 

Pompous Elitist said:
I agree that if it occurred grown males a**-grabbing, doing the carwash, doing naked pull ups is totally inappropriate. It's lewd, lascivious, salacious, outrageous. It’s full-on quasi-gay behavior, not that there’s anything wrong with that.

What’s worse than hazing? Ignoring or exacerbating injuries, alleged toxic culture. Do you believe it, Guy? I tend not to fully buy these kinds of allegations but who knows- there could be a kernel of truth in there as well sometimes. There are plenty of ***holes walking amongst us.


www.cbsnews.com

Unnecessary Roughness? Former Gophers Claim Tough Practices Ended Football Careers

Former Gopher athletes have come forward with allegations of tough football practices that ended their careers -- and they're not alone.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com
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Woah. What if the coach of the team in the story settled with the university and the university in the settlement was allowed to say hazing occurred?
Would that change your opinion?

What if the story you posted the university was allowed to publicly say occurred on the coaches watch? Would that reflect poorly upon the coach?


Because that’s what happened at northwestern




Hazing occurred at northwestern.
Northwestern agrees.
Pat Fitzgerald agrees.
It’s fine if you think that’s fine. I don’t really care. But if you say it didn’t occur…I will continue to let you know that Pat Fitzgerald settlement allows northwestern to publicly agree it happened.
 


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