An investigation into hazing allegations within the Northwestern Wildcats football program found no evidence that head coach Pat Fitzgerald knew about the horrible sexualized hazing incidents, but one player is disputing that claim.
An anonymous former Northwestern football player told college football insider Adam Rittenberg of ESPN that there was a whiteboard in the middle of the locker room making reference to the hazing rituals, making it unlikely that Fitzgerald or anyone else within the football program knew about the incidents.
“The former Northwestern player sent ESPN a screenshot of a whiteboard, which he says was in the middle of the locker room. Image is headlined ‘SHREK’S LIST’ and includes a list of players’ names and several bulleted items, including ‘naked slingshot’ and ‘naked bear crawls,'” Rittenberg said in a tweet.
We are not publishing the photo, but former player said: "That was in the middle of the locker room for all eyes to see throughout my entire time in the program. Every single player in this program from 2020 to 2023 knows what Shrek is and knows about the hazing that occurs."
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) July 9, 2023
Rittenberg explained that ESPN was not planning to publish the photo, but did share a quote from the anonymous player.
“That was in the middle of the locker room for all eyes to see throughout my entire time in the program. Every single player in this program from 2020 to 2023 knows what Shrek is and knows about the hazing that occurs,” the player told ESPN.
Fitzgerald was initially given just a two-week suspension, but after the horrible details of the incidents emerged, Northwestern president Michael Schill admitted that he “may have erred” in such a light punishment and plans to reconsider.
