the University as well, in terms of credibility and dollars. The hazing must have been serious (we don't know) to merit Fitz's firing. It is true that Fitz must be accountable for all aspects of his program. BUT, no one except for Schill, Gragg, the Board of Regents, Pat Ryan, Fitz, the coaches, and the team know if the former is true. This is why this looks so bad. Guilty until proven innocent in the public's eyes. All Schill needed to do was wait until all the facts were publicly available to justify his decision. VERY bad judgement, and he has a real mess on his hands.. He has set the reputation of NU back to, well, the Dark Ages. I will not contribute another dollar to NU until he is gone, but will support NU football in whatever form it will take.
It appears that Schill may have F***** not only NU football, but
- Thread starter stpaulcat
- Start date
I’m going to try and sit down and write a very long post. I spoke to someone who knows fitz very well.
As to the dollars, I expect this cost the university no less than $1B over the next ten years.
Someone has said, and I echo it, this is one of the worst PR disasters of modern business.
No one talks about it but there are very few if any Northwestern Alums in leadership positions in the areas of marketing. Fundraising or even the head of the Alumni Association
As to the dollars, I expect this cost the university no less than $1B over the next ten years.
Someone has said, and I echo it, this is one of the worst PR disasters of modern business.
No one talks about it but there are very few if any Northwestern Alums in leadership positions in the areas of marketing. Fundraising or even the head of the Alumni Association
It won't sink in until the reputation of the overall university is hit, and according to the local media they are focusing on the dysfunctional administration. So, sit back and watch.
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The reputation of the University has already been hit, that's the point. Incompetent leadership.
He kept the program alive during his tenure, which means through much of 'Fitz's tenure, given that Fitz could not produce an offense. This, however, is a different issue from whether Fitz knew about serious hazing.
Absolutely a different issue, though given the timeline, I suppose he might have known, either directly or had duty to know about what was alleged, too. What a nightmare this is.
I don't think Northwestern ever intended for all of the facts to be publicly available. It seems that Schill's plan was to keep the negative details hidden and hope the mild suspension would go relatively unnoticed. What he failed in anticipate was that the whistleblower might not be satisfied with the 2-week suspension and that he might opt to share details with the Daily.
It's pretty rare that any large organization, whether governmental or private, does a great job of handling a crisis such as this. The first reaction is usually to attempt a coverup and put a positive spin on things, which almost inevitably makes the problem worse as details come out. How many times have we seen automakers (falsified claims, safety violations, etc.) and other manufacturers stumble their way through crisis management.
I often wonder as well whether any politicians and business leaders have any acquaintance with ethics classes.
I'm guessing the reason this keeps happening is because A) it is far easier to cover it up and say nothing and B) it usually works.
Having lived thru the Watergate era while at NU it was noted at the time that Nixon went down primarily because of the attempt to coverup, not so much the Watergate break-in itself. I remember when Alexander Butterfield testified before the Senate and gave an “oh-sh*t” look when asked about recordings made by Nixon in the Oval Office which blew the lid off of the scandal back then. I can imagine there were a few similar reactions across campus when the Daily’s article with details of the scandal was released.
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Great points.
Crisis management 101: Cover it up. Hope it blows over. Put positive spin on things. Appear incompetent when facts leak out. Take your punishment. Rebuild your reputation over the next decade or so... Penn State is a good example. I only hope NU's football program can rebound as readily as their's did, but they have a long and storied past to fall back on plus lower academic standards and a more fertile recruiting ground...
Crisis management 101: Cover it up. Hope it blows over. Put positive spin on things. Appear incompetent when facts leak out. Take your punishment. Rebuild your reputation over the next decade or so... Penn State is a good example. I only hope NU's football program can rebound as readily as their's did, but they have a long and storied past to fall back on plus lower academic standards and a more fertile recruiting ground...
I have a feeling that Fitz may have a similar “oh-sh*t” moment when some text messages or video surfaces. I'm wondering if the coaches all use university-issued cell phones.
Well, often it doesn't work and we're seeing a spectacular example of that here. What worries me as a former journalist is that the decline in print media publications and other forms of journalism will make the coverups easier to get away with and conspiracies easier to sell. It's telling that this was flushed out by a couple of student journalists. As we know, the traditional major outlets in the Chicago area basically gave up covering NU sports to any great extent some years ago. This is by far the most coverage I've seen Northwestern get on anything in years, and of course the sad part is that it's all negative.
It's true all over the country. My small Pa. D2 alma mater almost never gets coverage from area media on any positive we do — hold the line on tuition, graduate local students, add a new engineering school, etc. But when there was an off-campus shooting a couple of years back we were in the news for days. Our football coach doesn't hold press conferences after games, primarily because no one shows up to cover the team. What journalism resources there are go to care and feeding of the Penn State colossus.
I don’t think it’s reasonable for anyone to assume this coverup would work—not in this climate with views toward sexual abuse. It’s obvious the whistleblower had an agenda, and given the dynamics of social media, he held all the power over NU and he just used it. If the NU powers didn’t know that would happen, they’ve had their head in the sand the last decade and need to make room for competent, younger leadership.
