WildcatReport - Parents angry at Northwestern administrators for handling of hazing scandal
One parent called the entire episode “a ****show”.
northwestern.rivals.com
Parents angry at NU for handling of hazing scandal
- Thread starter lou v
- Start date
northwestern.rivals.com
Clearly!
Northwestern hasn’t even formally named an interim head coach which is astonishing.
Also astonishing the President and Athletic Director have yet to speak in person to the team and answer questions.
Northwestern hasn’t even formally named an interim head coach which is astonishing.
Also astonishing the President and Athletic Director have yet to speak in person to the team and answer questions.
The parents I spoke with said that their sons didn't experience the hazing incidents described in the report. I'll leave it at that. We decided not to include any of that in the story for myriad reasons. We, as well as the parents, want to be sensitive to the victims of the hazing.
I guess that’s one way of looking at it.
Gragg's detailed explanation for why he Zoomed is probably the most I've ever heard him say on any subject. Can't say it was the world's greatest excuse, but at least it's an explanation. Then again, he probably could've found a flight between Saturday - when everything really hit the fan - and Monday long before that fateful meeting.
Unless they completely kept him out of the loop in regards to the fact that they were going to announce the suspension on Friday, he should've been on the first plane back that day.
My read, and delete it if you will:
Yes, hazing happened; No, it didn’t happen to their kids.
Read further: Their kids were better players.
Expansion: Were preferred walk-on freshman TEs typically subjected to hazing?
Lou- do you have any contacts with the faculty that you can reach out to? I thought I’ve seen in the news that some NU faculty have publicly called for the admin to hit the pause button on the new stadium proposal because of the hazing scandal but generally I’ve not seen comments from faculty members, yet.
Note-I found this link with NU faculty commenting on the scandal and asking for a pause for the stadium project…..
news.wttw.com
I mentioned years ago I served on the committee that oversees intercollegiate athletics and recreation at UCSD that included several faculty members including the faculty member who still serves as the campus liaison to the NCAA whom I still stay in touch. The faculty can’t be too happy about this matter as the impact it will have on the institution, including areas outside of athletics. Fundraising has already been a challenge for non-profits during these post-pandemic times, this situation won’t help. The faculty may have their own questions about leadership as the ripple effects of this ongoing institution trauma hits their departments. The role of the faculty may be hidden and indirect, but it can be significant particularly impacting leadership and future direction of areas like the athletic department. They are another group like the players parents who cannot be pleased with the leadership’s handling of the situation given the negative publicity this is generating in the media.
Also, we’ve yet to hear potential impact of the scandal from the conference and NCAA levels and if they will conduct their own investigations and hearings on the scandal which could drag things out. Pretty depressing.
Note-I found this link with NU faculty commenting on the scandal and asking for a pause for the stadium project…..
Northwestern Professors Urge University Officials to Halt $800M Stadium Amid Football Hazing Scandal
“Over the past decade, Northwestern has made major and high-profile investments in athletics. But disturbing evidence of harassment and abuse — and high-level efforts to minimize those problems — suggest that we need to get the existing house in order before expanding it,” six university...
I mentioned years ago I served on the committee that oversees intercollegiate athletics and recreation at UCSD that included several faculty members including the faculty member who still serves as the campus liaison to the NCAA whom I still stay in touch. The faculty can’t be too happy about this matter as the impact it will have on the institution, including areas outside of athletics. Fundraising has already been a challenge for non-profits during these post-pandemic times, this situation won’t help. The faculty may have their own questions about leadership as the ripple effects of this ongoing institution trauma hits their departments. The role of the faculty may be hidden and indirect, but it can be significant particularly impacting leadership and future direction of areas like the athletic department. They are another group like the players parents who cannot be pleased with the leadership’s handling of the situation given the negative publicity this is generating in the media.
Also, we’ve yet to hear potential impact of the scandal from the conference and NCAA levels and if they will conduct their own investigations and hearings on the scandal which could drag things out. Pretty depressing.
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I think the administration was so stupid that they thought two pages of press release would be enough.
I think the contents had been finalized for weeks, and they simply waited until Friday to release it.
And if the professional Chicago media was all that existed, it would have worked. (Again, meddling kids.)
Good point, and if you feel this way, then maybe he should've been back BEFORE Friday, since they likely knew they were going to announce it Friday. I guess they just thought it would be such a nothing-burger that there was no reason to even consider being present for damage control.
You know how long it took him to get those Coliseum entrance tickets??!! And you wanted him to just give those up??
I thought I saw here that the AD got back to Evanston and did meet with them again
If he was still out of town, the fact that he zoomed was a small part of issue. Also took no questions and just cut it off
Thanks for the article and the reporting throughout Lou.
WildcatReport - Parents angry at Northwestern administrators for handling of hazing scandal
One parent called the entire episode “a ****show”.
Isn’t that worth reporting? This information helps readers understand the extent of the alleged abuse.
He said he did the Zoom meeting from the airport. Perhaps he needed to jump off the Zoom to board his flight. But if that were the case, he should have told the team, "I am sorry that I cannot stay on to answer your questions, as I need to board a flight right now to return home to be with you. I will meet with you personally and answer your questions upon my return."
My biggest question here is why NU would dump the press release about the investigation results and the suspension of the head football coach with the AD overseas. That just makes no sense. It suggests either that (a) Gragg is out of the loop, which would be concerning, or (b) they were hoping to create an excuse for Gragg not being around to take calls about the suspension, which would be equally concerning.
I’ve never seen evidence that Gragg plays much of a role in NU athletics.
Because they thought it would be nothing.
I suspect it’s because, just like all the praise we’ve seen for Fitz over the past week, no parents can honestly report, “My son says he never saw any hazing of a sexual nature in the locker room.”
Yeah let me just say I'm skeptical of Gragg's explanation for how / why he didn't get back earlier.
And then he says "I was told by people to stay there to be on calls"... I mean you're the AD, short of the President no one is your boss. And the President should understand it's a high priority for you to get back to deal with this in person. Not to mention that he should obviously not have been out of the country on Friday when this news originally dropped.
This is my favorite part (but, also, not great at all.). Gragg wasn’t even brought to the call where the decision was made.
“On yesterday, I was actually 20 minutes from boarding a flight back when I was made aware of the final decision.”
I also don’t like the ‘on yesterday’ construction. ‘Yesterday’ suffices, but that’s a minor quibble.
“On yesterday, I was actually 20 minutes from boarding a flight back when I was made aware of the final decision.”
I also don’t like the ‘on yesterday’ construction. ‘Yesterday’ suffices, but that’s a minor quibble.
Oh yeah I read that and was like... what!?
So uh, what exactly, would you say you... do here" (Office Space)
So the difference being “didn’t experience” vs. “didn’t see”? Either one would be worth reporting.
The decision to fire Fitz was always above Gragg’s head.
Only the president & BoT could get that done.
Then how is the decision on who to hire to replace Fitz solely tasked to Gragg? What if a candidate expresses interest in the position, but wants to bring in an AD he has a personal relationship with?
If Gragg runs the search I’d expect Mason and the Marshall coach to top the list given their history with Gragg.
NU's Student Code of Conduct and the State of Illinois both define hazing.
What happened in the NU football program may be "unacceptable behavior" or worse, but it isn't hazing.
(Hazing requires that one student have the power to admit, exclude or expel another student from his group or team)
What happened in the NU football program may be "unacceptable behavior" or worse, but it isn't hazing.
(Hazing requires that one student have the power to admit, exclude or expel another student from his group or team)
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