Last month, Northwestern Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired after details emerged of a hazing scandal throughout that included sexualized acts and scenarios. And it seems a few Northwestern coaches are expressing their displeasure at his termination.
As reported by Bradley Locker of Inside NU, several coaches are wearing special shirts that seem to protest the termination of Pat Fitzgerald.
“Several Northwestern coaches/staffers, including OC Mike Bajakian, are donning “Cats Against the World” shirts with No. 51 — Pat Fitzgerald’s old jersey number — on them,” Locker said in a tweet.
Over the last few weeks, I reached out to the company that made these shirts, which were circulated by players on social media and available to buy until July 31. The company would not disclose if any Northwestern players/team members were involved in their creation.
— Bradley Locker (@Bradley_Locker) August 9, 2023
“Over the last few weeks, I reached out to the company that made these shirts, which were circulated by players on social media and available to buy until July 31. The company would not disclose if any Northwestern players/team members were involved in their creation,” Locker said in a follow-up tweet.
It’s certainly a bold move given the culture of sexualized hazing, and many were not too pleased the coachs’ decision to wear the shirts.
not great https://t.co/6jsPGautsb
— Jessica Smetana (@jessica_smetana) August 9, 2023
Whatever your feelings on The Recent Unpleasantness, this is an occasion where it would be good to recall that shutting up is free. https://t.co/eXwsrmfjUT
— Tom McGrath (@TCMcG) August 9, 2023
Early lines have the world at -237.5 https://t.co/E2I6sHZnip
— Jack Mitchell (@JackMitchellLNK) August 9, 2023
Gross https://t.co/fy2ecteGAI
— JerBear (@JD_Jerbear) August 9, 2023
So clearly they’ve all learned a valuable lesson here https://t.co/LQ0nB2k8sF
— 🌽Sarah🌽 (@eliash10) August 9, 2023
yeah this aint it https://t.co/pSHNigotdK
— Lucy Rohden (@lucy_rohden) August 9, 2023
Fitzgerald was fired more for the culture of the program he led than for any individual action from him. But unfortunately, this makes it pretty clear that the culture of the program is unchanged and they think they’re the victims.
