New Daily Herald article on Fitz

[NUCat320]

Ok, but why would we then take statements from the whistleblower as factual? The collaborator is the ultimate odd ball. The Daily was eager to get the story out, screw waiting to get more information. Forget about talking to enough current players to get their story.

O’Donnell lives in the same town as me. He has hardly been supportive of NU throughout his career. He has been plenty critical. However, even if he isn’t my cup of tea, he has had a long professional career. He has sources, plenty of them and don’t think he typically throws crap against the wall to see what sticks. I find him way more credible than most of the accusers!

O’Donnell lost his sh*t on this board once. Weird meltdown thing, though I forget the context. It was around the time where Coble left the basketball program. Some point shortly thereafter, he was no longer with the Sun-Times. (I hope someone else remembers this and it wasn’t just a weird, vivid dream that sticks with me 15 years later.)

I’m not sure what you don’t find credible about the accusers. Literally nobody has denied that running happen.

I’m not sure we’ve seen corroboration of the ‘Shrek clap’, but Runsmas was real and made many people uncomfortable and at least one who chose not to participate was less part of the team because of it and nobody ever stopped it because it was simply part of the Good Clean American Fun culture.

It was a Fitz blind spot, not because he was blind to it happening, but because he didn’t think it was a big deal.

 

[curdog]

O’Donnell lost his sh*t on this board once. Weird meltdown thing, though I forget the context. It was around the time where Coble left the basketball program. Some point shortly thereafter, he was no longer with the Sun-Times. (I hope someone else remembers this and it wasn’t just a weird, vivid dream that sticks with me 15 years later.)

I’m not sure what you don’t find credible about the accusers. Literally nobody has denied that running happen.

I’m not sure we’ve seen corroboration of the ‘Shrek clap’, but Runsmas was real and made many people uncomfortable and at least one who chose not to participate was less part of the team because of it and nobody ever stopped it because it was simply part of the Good Clean American Fun culture.

It was a Fitz blind spot, not because he was blind to it happening, but because he didn’t think it was a big deal.

Wow, sounds like you have a copy of the report from the 6 month investigation. Would love to read it.

 

[NUCat320]

Wow, sounds like you have a copy of the report from the 6 month investigation. Would love to read it.

Please, please, please find me all the denials of running within the NU program.

 

[curdog]

Please, please, please find me all the denials of running within the NU program.

Demos is one. Also, was it forced or more horseplay? Was it rampant or one off?

Can we all just put the pitchforks away until we know more?

 

[hdhntr1]

It suggests the BOT and admin are basically telling him, "You want the UW job? Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

But why would they want him????

 

[hdhntr1]

The $100 million mistake.

View embedded media

$100 million on just this. Likely significantly bigger mistake. I agree with the poster that said the cost would be closer to $1B but it will take about 10 years to get a real handle on the total scope. He already showed a pullback of commitments of $100 mill on the stadium rebuild and other costs as well

 

[hdhntr1]

Or maybe read excerpts from the report (that was the result of a 6 month investigation) that showed there was no evidence he knew.

Or maybe wait and see what the facts of the case are.

I question that that could be done without forcing them (the sources) to be available for cross examination

 

[hdhntr1]

If Polisky was qualified to be the AD of a major university, that's what he'd be doing right now instead of administrating a pickle ball organization.

Well they pretty much destroyed his reputation in the process and made him toxic. How could any University high him for a role like that under the circumstances. He had to get what he could. Sound familiar?

 

[hdhntr1]

If it's true that the players' cases are more tenuous then from the school's perspective, it's strategically better to settle with the players first and fight it out with Fitz.

If they do and are reasonably successful then they have to pay Fitz even more

 

[hdhntr1]

Not all ADs are qualified people, but all people who are qualified to be ADs (and are interested in the job) are going to be working in an actual athletic department or for a major athletics organization.

Sorry but they destroyed his reputation during the process. Maybe in a few years he could get back into it but for now, they made him toxic

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Please, please, please find me all the denials of running within the NU program.

Please detail the who, what, when and how of these “runnings”? Please tell us how it makes any sense that when given the opportunity to leave such a horrific culture after the HC was fired, a grand total of 1 player ( been here 1 year) that had been on the team split? Please enlighten me to how some of the most competitive Alpha males on campus allow their teammates junk to be bounced off there cheekbones without some major resistance? Please tell why we had not even of a single player in 17 years reporting these actions to the HC? Please tell me why the fired HC has the support of the current staff, current players , families of the current players, and the vast majority of former players and staff that participated in the program?

I could go on and the point is we all can play this game. I sure you have answers for these questions because you are going to believe what you want to believe. I have opinions on your questions but ultimately pretty much everyone has an initial stand. I doubt anything changes unless more “actual” evidence comes out. How about we just focus on the season at hand until new details are uncovered?

 

[peatymeanis]

Well they pretty much destroyed his reputation in the process and made him toxic. How could any University high him for a role like that under the circumstances. He had to get what he could. Sound familiar?

They destroyed his reputation by running a sham hiring process in his favor? If he truly was railroaded, surely some other school would recognize that and pick up such a talented administrator on the cheap. Or maybe, the BoT at NU is a group of fogeys completely out of touch with the times and they overlooked why it’s not good to hire a guy who made it his job to pimp out cheerleaders to creepy old men. Of course, him doing that is why the fogeys at the BoT liked him in the first place.

 

[peatymeanis]

If they do and are reasonably successful then they have to pay Fitz even more

Nope

 

[NUCat320]

Demos is one. Also, was it forced or more horseplay? Was it rampant or one off?

Can we all just put the pitchforks away until we know more?

Demos, who left in 2010, denied running happen. Based on the extensive reporting by The Athletic, on how running grew over time and how early 2010s didn’t recognize what it had become over the past handful of years, this largely makes sense.

Please, please, please come up with a better word than horseplay. That’s what Paterno used for rape.

Sadly, we will never know more.

Please tell us how it makes any sense that when given the opportunity to leave such a horrific culture after the HC was fired, a grand total of 1 player ( been here 1 year) that had been on the team split? Please enlighten me to how some of the most competitive Alpha males on campus allow their teammates junk to be bounced off there cheekbones without some major resistance? Please tell why we had not even of a single player in 17 years reporting these actions to the HC? Please tell me why the fired HC has the support of the current staff, current players , families of the current players, and the vast majority of former players and staff that participated in the program?

Because culture is strong. And hazing was part of the culture.

@curdog , @Purple Pile Driver , @corbi296
Is your position that there was no hazing?

The report concluded there was hazing. (That’s what ‘was it forced or was it horseplay?’, and ‘how could alphas just not fight back?’ implies.)

We’ll never see the report, but the report concluded that there were 11 (not sure that’s the exact number, but it was about that) corroborations of hazing. They only talked to 50 or so people, and who knows how many of those were coaches or administrators or people with an instinct to protect their jobs, but there were 11 corroborations of hazing.

Repeatedly, including from Lou and also from the freshman manager (won’t tag her but she added great knowledge), we have heard that running was a well-known practice. Running was ‘dry humping’, and frankly, I wish somebody detailed what that truly meant in context, but it it sure sounds like lots of body parts got whacked with lots of d*cks.

Outside of Demos, all the support of Fitz has talked about the positive he did, but has *never* said that hazing did not happen.

You have to believe that this is all one giant conspiracy theory if you believe that there was no hazing in the Northwestern locker room. And, I can promise you, in 1969 a real man walked on the moon, and it didn’t happen on a soundstage.



Now,….
People who haze are assholes. And I wish some of the ringleaders were known, but they never will be. It sucks to know that, for all the arrogance of NU football culture, there were some real assholes in the program. Still are, almost certainly, though their instincts have been quelled.

I don’t think Fitz is a bad person. I think Fitz had a blind spot. Humans have blind spots. I think a suspension with teeth (one season off the field would have been great) would have been right.

I think Fitz got bad advice to pretend he didn’t know that there was anything resembling hazing in the program. When managers and staffers know, when there are (alleged, though lots of people have seen the photos) whiteboards with lists of names in the locker room, it’s pretty inconceivable that he was totally in the dark.

It was a CYA move for Fitz, and it was the opposite of leadership. I wish he’d have taken some responsibility for what happened in the locker room, but he didn’t.

I’ll respond when people pretend hazing didn’t happen. We can’t *know* whether Fitz *knew*, but we can draw our conclusions from other facts.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

320, I think I made my position known ad nauseam, so I won’t repeat that detail.

Yes, I believe “something” happened. The disconnect might be what was forced participation and what is the definition of hazing. I struggle mightily to jump to the conclusion that players were held down against their will and had other players d*cks smashed all over their bodies. I also have issues that team leaders would allow this to happen when the victims were obviously in distress. Doesn’t make any sense to me. I certainly could see guys thinking the car wash was funny and set up some type of blockage to exit. Stupid and should be punished. I don’t see that as sexual assault. So in short, I agree that there likely were stupid acts perpetrated on players that weren’t popular in the room. There should be some ramifications against the perpetrators. However, to say the HC must have known or even should have known is what will ultimately be disproved. Hazing is defined differently by people. Singing the fight song, drinking a shot, carrying equipment, bringing donuts to your teammates are all technically hazing, although I think most of us would have little problems with that. I think the egregious nature of the claims by the accusers are WAY overblown and presented in a manner to ruin careers or line pockets. There are no winners here!

 

[curdog]

Demos, who left in 2010, denied running happen. Based on the extensive reporting by The Athletic, on how running grew over time and how early 2010s didn’t recognize what it had become over the past handful of years, this largely makes sense.

Please, please, please come up with a better word than horseplay. That’s what Paterno used for rape.

Sadly, we will never know more.


Because culture is strong. And hazing was part of the culture.

@curdog , @Purple Pile Driver , @corbi296
Is your position that there was no hazing?

The report concluded there was hazing. (That’s what ‘was it forced or was it horseplay?’, and ‘how could alphas just not fight back?’ implies.)

We’ll never see the report, but the report concluded that there were 11 (not sure that’s the exact number, but it was about that) corroborations of hazing. They only talked to 50 or so people, and who knows how many of those were coaches or administrators or people with an instinct to protect their jobs, but there were 11 corroborations of hazing.

Repeatedly, including from Lou and also from the freshman manager (won’t tag her but she added great knowledge), we have heard that running was a well-known practice. Running was ‘dry humping’, and frankly, I wish somebody detailed what that truly meant in context, but it it sure sounds like lots of body parts got whacked with lots of d*cks.

Outside of Demos, all the support of Fitz has talked about the positive he did, but has *never* said that hazing did not happen.

You have to believe that this is all one giant conspiracy theory if you believe that there was no hazing in the Northwestern locker room. And, I can promise you, in 1969 a real man walked on the moon, and it didn’t happen on a soundstage.



Now,….
People who haze are assholes. And I wish some of the ringleaders were known, but they never will be. It sucks to know that, for all the arrogance of NU football culture, there were some real assholes in the program. Still are, almost certainly, though their instincts have been quelled.

I don’t think Fitz is a bad person. I think Fitz had a blind spot. Humans have blind spots. I think a suspension with teeth (one season off the field would have been great) would have been right.

I think Fitz got bad advice to pretend he didn’t know that there was anything resembling hazing in the program. When managers and staffers know, when there are (alleged, though lots of people have seen the photos) whiteboards with lists of names in the locker room, it’s pretty inconceivable that he was totally in the dark.

It was a CYA move for Fitz, and it was the opposite of leadership. I wish he’d have taken some responsibility for what happened in the locker room, but he didn’t.

I’ll respond when people pretend hazing didn’t happen. We can’t *know* whether Fitz *knew*, but we can draw our conclusions from other facts.

I use horseplay becaue hazing is a meaningless word. Requiring freshman to put on a skit is hazing. Is that a fireable offense? Again, just put the pitchfork away.

 

[curdog]

They destroyed his reputation by running a sham hiring process in his favor? If he truly was railroaded, surely some other school would recognize that and pick up such a talented administrator on the cheap. Or maybe, the BoT at NU is a group of fogeys completely out of touch with the times and they overlooked why it’s not good to hire a guy who made it his job to pimp out cheerleaders to creepy old men. Of course, him doing that is why the fogeys at the BoT liked him in the first place.

Judge, jury, executioner and logician

 

[NUCat320]

I use horseplay becaue hazing is a meaningless word. Requiring freshman to put on a skit is hazing. Is that a fireable offense? Again, just put the pitchfork away.

But, presumably, you agree that more than skits happened. Right?

 

[NUCat320]

320, I think I made my position known ad nauseam, so I won’t repeat that detail.

Yes, I believe “something” happened. The disconnect might be what was forced participation and what is the definition of hazing. I struggle mightily to jump to the conclusion that players were held down against their will and had other players d*cks smashed all over their bodies. I also have issues that team leaders would allow this to happen when the victims were obviously in distress. Doesn’t make any sense to me. I certainly could see guys thinking the car wash was funny and set up some type of blockage to exit. Stupid and should be punished. I don’t see that as sexual assault. So in short, I agree that there likely were stupid acts perpetrated on players that weren’t popular in the room. There should be some ramifications against the perpetrators. However, to say the HC must have known or even should have known is what will ultimately be disproved. Hazing is defined differently by people. Singing the fight song, drinking a shot, carrying equipment, bringing donuts to your teammates are all technically hazing, although I think most of us would have little problems with that. I think the egregious nature of the claims by the accusers are WAY overblown and presented in a manner to ruin careers or line pockets. There are no winners here!

No winners. We agree.
And, it sounds like you think there was probably a culture of bullying in the locker room, which sucks. (You don’t say the word, but the idea of less popular players being targeted hints at it.)


At one point, our podcaster friend responded that (not a quote) ‘you’d be surprised who some of the ringleaders were’. I do wish she had elaborated.

(@towercat, please…?)


I wish the facts as initially known would come out.


It’s nice that you’re taking Fitz at his word, but he sounds to me like somebody choosing between, “at the advice of my attorneys, I am exercising my right under the fifth amendment to the United States constitution” and “I do not recall” (“you do not recall what your job was on July 1, 2023?” “I do not recall”). Oh well, we can disagree there.


We all agree that Schill and Gragg are public incompetents and have proven themselves incapable of doing the jobs for which they were hired.

 

[curdog]

But, presumably, you agree that more than skits happened. Right?

I do agree. What I don’t know is what acts were forced (I.e. hazing) and what was not forced (I.e. horseplay). Also how rampant was the forced acts.

 

[hdhntr1]

Sure

Nope

. Sure. If they were successful it would mean no hazing and that would mean that they dismissed Fitz and faulty premise and slandered him and destroyed his reputation. Gotta think that would cost them even more

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

No winners. We agree.
And, it sounds like you think there was probably a culture of bullying in the locker room, which sucks. (You don’t say the word, but the idea of less popular players being targeted hints at it.)


At one point, our podcaster friend responded that (not a quote) ‘you’d be surprised who some of the ringleaders were’. I do wish she had elaborated.

(@towercat, please…?)


I wish the facts as initially known would come out.


It’s nice that you’re taking Fitz at his word, but he sounds to me like somebody choosing between, “at the advice of my attorneys, I am exercising my right under the fifth amendment to the United States constitution” and “I do not recall” (“you do not recall what your job was on July 1, 2023?” “I do not recall”). Oh well, we can disagree there.


We all agree that Schill and Gragg are public incompetents and have proven themselves incapable of doing the jobs for which they were hired.

You are correct, I didn’t use the word bully. There are over 100 players as part of the team, many more in support roles. There are going to be all types of personalities and facts are some will invariably clash. My experience was players didn’t necessarily have to hang out will every player but they respected the individual as someone that had the same challenges and similar experiences thar they did. However, if that player was viewed as not giving out the effort to succeed they quickly became ostracized. Players know dogs. Hence, the term “eaters and shitters” that was allegedly used. Being part of a team where you either don’t put forth the effort or somehow undermine team success is not going to endear you to your teammates. This ostracism happens on most teams from HS to the pro’s. I would doubt this dynamic ever changes.

Yes, I take Fitz at his word. Why wouldn’t I? I also believe the players that say he wouldn’t allow such nonsense had he known. I also weigh in the fact that not one accuser has present a modicum of evidence proving Fitz knew. Do you take the accusers at their word? A couple which have either been caught lying about other things or bragging about bringing the program down? Not to hard for me to figure out who is more credible to start with.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

If you are on the Rock, go read the perspective of a players parents about this whole thing. Pretty clear that if Barris and his band of merrymakers don’t take action to remove Bozo and/or Cookie, NU will face a significant player exodus.

 

[NUCat320]

Yes, I take Fitz at his word. Why wouldn’t I? I also believe the players that say he wouldn’t allow such nonsense had he known. I also weigh in the fact that not one accuser has present a modicum of evidence proving Fitz knew. Do you take the accusers at their word? A couple which have either been caught lying about other things or bragging about bringing the program down? Not to hard for me to figure out who is more credible to start with.

it is highly improbable that freshmen managers knew about running and Fitz did not. I cannot prove he knew, and nobody has explicitly said they told him about it, but it remains highly improbable for him to not know. There is not one accuser. There are dozens of accusers with overlapping and similar stories, and nobody in the program in the last decade who has denied it happened.

Fitz could have said “I did not know but I should have known”, or he could have said “I didn’t realize it was harming someone and I should have realized”, but he chose a highly improbable argument that absolutely he did not know. That’s tough to believe. He should have known that there were players being harmed, because he promised to take care of those players.

I’m not on the Rock but I’d welcome a snippet sent via PM 😉

 

[peatymeanis]

Sure

. Sure. If they were successful it would mean no hazing and that would mean that they dismissed Fitz and faulty premise and slandered him and destroyed his reputation. Gotta think that would cost them even more

If and when the school settles with the students, the school would admit no fault and everything would be wrapped up in an airtight NDA. There would be no determination as to whether hazing happened, or if the school slandered Fitz. A settlement is just a private agreement not to further litigate the matter. If it doesn’t go to trial, there is no determination on the merits or the facts that Fitz could use in his trial.

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

it is highly improbable that freshmen managers knew about running and Fitz did not. I cannot prove he knew, and nobody has explicitly said they told him about it, but it remains highly improbable for him to not know. There is not one accuser. There are dozens of accusers with overlapping and similar stories, and nobody in the program in the last decade who has denied it happened.

Fitz could have said “I did not know but I should have known”, or he could have said “I didn’t realize it was harming someone and I should have realized”, but he chose a highly improbable argument that absolutely he did not know. That’s tough to believe. He should have known that there were players being harmed, because he promised to take care of those players.

I’m not on the Rock but I’d welcome a snippet sent via PM 😉

Too bad you’re not on the Rock. The parent letter is very powerful. It shows just how oblivious you are regarding the entire situation.

 

[FeralFelidae]

Too bad you’re not on the Rock. The parent letter is very powerful. It shows just how oblivious you are regarding the entire situation.

If it's not public knowledge then the public will not know.

 

[NUCat320]

If it's not public knowledge then the public will not know.

MOAR OPEN LETTERS

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

If it's not public knowledge then the public will not know.

I’m not comfortable sharing the here. If the OP is comfortable, he should share as it’s a very impactful letter that all should read.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

I’m not comfortable sharing the here. If the OP is comfortable, he should share as it’s a very impactful letter that all should read.

Exactly, the letter wasn’t sent to me, so I won’t be sharing it even though I would love too. It sums up the feelings HS of just about everyone remaining in the program that I have spoke too. Parking across of the parents tail gate is very enlightening this year.

it is highly improbable that freshmen managers knew about running and Fitz did not. I cannot prove he knew, and nobody has explicitly said they told him about it, but it remains highly improbable for him to not know. There is not one accuser. There are dozens of accusers with overlapping and similar stories, and nobody in the program in the last decade who has denied it happened.

Fitz could have said “I did not know but I should have known”, or he could have said “I didn’t realize it was harming someone and I should have realized”, but he chose a highly improbable argument that absolutely he did not know. That’s tough to believe. He should have known that there were players being harmed, because he promised to take care of those players.

I’m not on the Rock but I’d welcome a snippet sent via PM 😉

Glad you aren’t a juror on my trial if I ever get accused of something.

 

[NUCat320]

Glad you aren’t a juror on my trial if I ever get accused of something.

It’s not a trial, and we don’t need indisputable video evidence.

 

[curdog]

It’s not a trial, and we don’t need indisputable video evidence.

It very well could be a trial (civil). If I’m Fitz, what do you have to lose?

 

[peatymeanis]

It very well could be a trial (civil). If I’m Fitz, what do you have to lose?

Any lawyer worth his salt will tell their client how unpredictable trials can be, especially one that is sure to involve a lot of publicity like this one. It's why the vast majority of cases settle before trial. I'd sure hope for his sake that Fitz's very expensive lawyer isn't telling him "F it, what do you have to lose?"

 

[zeek55]

It very well could be a trial (civil). If I’m Fitz, what do you have to lose?

There's no point to a trial.

Northwestern will likely give him somewhere around his full salary paid up front ($50-60 million) and he'll go on his way and coach again somewhere else (at what level I don't know but salary won't mean much given he'll be getting 8+ years of his salary here effectively pre-paid).

There's no reason to take this to an actual trial where he could get considerably less and have all the dirty laundry about the hazing situation aired out in public. Nobody wants that. He doesn't benefit from this whole thing playing out in public when the university is highly likely to just give him his money.

 

[hdhntr1]

They destroyed his reputation by running a sham hiring process in his favor? If he truly was railroaded, surely some other school would recognize that and pick up such a talented administrator on the cheap. Or maybe, the BoT at NU is a group of fogeys completely out of touch with the times and they overlooked why it’s not good to hire a guy who made it his job to pimp out cheerleaders to creepy old men. Of course, him doing that is why the fogeys at the BoT liked him in the first place.

Oh, please. They never had to hire him for that position in the first place. But then when the basically forced him out days later, the information that they made sure got out and that he had to leave NU. Tell me how any college program hires him under those circumstances. Again no due process but his career was destroyed

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Exactly. This is a columnist who is reporting statements by interested parties. You can speculate on who told him these things and what their motive is for getting this information out there. But you certainly shouldn't take any of it at face value.

Please tell me that you didn't blindly accept the stuff written about the NU football program by amateur journalists at the Daily Northwestern.

 

[NUCat320]

They destroyed his reputation by running a sham hiring process in his favor? If he truly was railroaded, surely some other school would recognize that and pick up such a talented administrator on the cheap. Or maybe, the BoT at NU is a group of fogeys completely out of touch with the times and they overlooked why it’s not good to hire a guy who made it his job to pimp out cheerleaders to creepy old men. Of course, him doing that is why the fogeys at the BoT liked him in the first place.

You know, you could also infer that the Professional Pickleballers hired him specifically because he might pimp out cheerleaders.

Perhaps NU *helped* him land a job leading America’s fastest growing sport.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

These aren't "Schrodinger's witnesses". They either exist or they dont. If they don't, probaby Fitz get a lot of money and the player lawsuits get bupkus. I think they exist, but would love to be proven wrong, that no harmful hazing occurred for his entire tenure. If so, apologize, pay him and eff the lying players.

I tend to believe victims, especially if there are a lot of them, corroborated by staff members. The truth will come out, and (only if proven true), I don't want Fitz fired, as stated by another poster. I think he belongs in jail.

I don't care if he didn't know. It's his job to know. He told the parents he'd protect their kids. He lied.

He's a disgrace. A poor man's Art Briles

I'm pretty sure this is the craziest opinion ever expressed on this message board.
I find it difficult to believe that someone's brain could produce that output without malfunctioning.

 

[curdog]

There's no point to a trial.

Northwestern will likely give him somewhere around his full salary paid up front ($50-60 million) and he'll go on his way and coach again somewhere else (at what level I don't know but salary won't mean much given he'll be getting 8+ years of his salary here effectively pre-paid).

There's no reason to take this to an actual trial where he could get considerably less and have all the dirty laundry about the hazing situation aired out in public. Nobody wants that. He doesn't benefit from this whole thing playing out in public when the university is highly likely to just give him his money.

You say no reason, but perhaps Fitz might want to have his reputation restored. That could be worth more to him than the money.

 

[zeek55]

You say no reason, but perhaps Fitz might want to have his reputation restored. That could be worth more to him than the money.

I don't think Fitz's reputation is permanently destroyed.

TBH, most people following the story probably think that Fitz didn't have knowledge of or involvement in the hazing. The issue is whether he should have known.

That damages his coaching career obviously given he was the HC and HCs take responsibility for what happens in the locker room, but I don't think anybody thinks Fitz is the "bad guy" here or some kind of untouchable. He can easily get back to being a Power conference assistant at some point, even a DC.

Coaches like Briles and Tucker have far worse reputational damage from their situations due to the nature of their involvement. They're untouchable.

I mean most of us think his firing was a grotesque overreaction to the administration mishandling the situatuon and I'd imagine the trustees that matter think that as well.

Again, this is why settling is probably in Fitz's favor, there's no reason to drag this into a trial about what Fitz knew or should have known and whether that was firable with cause.