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A team of investigators led by former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch recommended that the school’s athletic department increase its anti-hazing training at Northwestern in the wake of the scandal.
Although the report released Thursday by the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP said “the results of our review have been largely positive,” investigators found room for improvement in preventing hazing during the nearly year-long review. .
“Some expressed interest in more interactive and scenario-based anti-hazing training, while others thought a greater emphasis on bystander intervention would be valuable,” the report said. “Accordingly, we recommend that the athletics department consider ways to incorporate more bystander intervention, interactive and scenario-based training into its existing anti-hazing training program.”
Lynch and his team interviewed more than 120 people, including current and former student-athletes, non-athlete students, coaches, athletic administrators and staff, faculty, university administrators and trustees. They reviewed documents and data, including athletic department policies.
Northwestern fired football coach Pat Fitzgerald in July 2023 after 17 seasons amid a tumultuous scandal that led to lawsuits at multiple games including sexual harassment by teammates as well as racist comments and racially-based attacks by the coach.
Fitzgerald was initially fired after an investigation by attorney Maggie Hickey of the law firm Arentfox Schiff. The investigation did not find “sufficient” evidence that the coaching staff knew about the ongoing hazing but concluded that there was “significant opportunity” to know about it. Fitzgerald is suing the school for $130 million, saying his alma mater wrongfully fired him.
Northwestern hired Lynch in July 2023 to lead an investigation into its athletic department’s culture and its anti-hazing practices.
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