So, wait, there’s a *recording*?

[NUCat320]

@EvanstonCat wrote about a mysterious recording.

“…not only having such an obvious axe to grind but being caught on tape outlining his scheme clearly and unequivocally,”…

Any details? Who has heard the recording? How long is it? What does it say?

Thanks!

 

[WaveJumper]

Yeah, there actually was and it was documented on this board slightly after Fitzgerald was fired. It was a conversation between Richardson and a team mate whae he admitted hating Fitzgerald and words to the effect that he (Richardson) was gonna get Fitzgerald fired and was hoping that he would also face jail time.

It was on this board, and I'm sure others remember it in addition to me and ECat.

 

[FeralFelidae]

@CatManTrue actually created a thread about it before he went all in on his current stance.

That being said, I have not heard the recording. There is at least one poster who has claimed to have heard it.

 

[CatManTrue]

@CatManTrue actually created a thread about it before he went all in on his current stance.

That being said, I have not heard the recording. There is at least one poster who has claimed to have heard it.

I did? I think you’re confusing me with someone else… I haven’t seen this recording, nor do I care to.

 

[FeralFelidae]

I did? I think you’re confusing me with someone else… I haven’t seen this recording, nor do I care to.

I didn't say you heard the recording. I said you made a thread about it.

Did you not?

 

[gocatsgo2003]

@EvanstonCat wrote about a mysterious recording.

“…not only having such an obvious axe to grind but being caught on tape outlining his scheme clearly and unequivocally,”…

Any details? Who has heard the recording? How long is it? What does it say?

Thanks!

Yes there is a recording. Not likely to appear publicly anytime soon because Illinois is a two-party consent state. It’s apparently pretty damning.

 

[wicker]

I have not heard it.
But it exonerates Fitz.
Unless it doesn't.

 

[FeralFelidae]

I have not heard it.
But it exonerates Fitz.
Unless it doesn't.

I see what you did there.

If it exists, I don't think it exonerates Fitz, but it does purportedly have CR admitting to exaggerating details and admitting to his motives.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

I see what you did there.

If it exists, I don't think it exonerates Fitz, but it does purportedly have CR admitting to exaggerating details and admitting to his motives.

It exists

 

[FeralFelidae]

It exists

Have you heard it?

 

[Hungry Jack]

The recording is being held under strict supervision at Area 51. It is in the big warehouse next to the spaceship.

 

[hdhntr1]

The recording is being held under strict supervision at Area 51. It is in the big warehouse next to the spaceship.

Well, NU's version of area 51 anyway.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

The recording is being held under strict supervision at Area 51. It is in the big warehouse next to the spaceship.

Would you want to publicly release the recording if you knew that a pretty litigious person was on the other end of it? I wouldn’t want to get sued.

 

[techtim72]

Would you want to publicly release the recording if you knew that a pretty litigious person was on the other end of it? I wouldn’t want to get sued.

Give it to DOJ to hold. We will be sure to hear it then via NYT or WaPo.

Too political?

 

[Darren72]

Rittenberg's early reporting and Fitgerald's lawsuit both reference the fact that the whistleblower made his plans known. If the recording exists, it presumably reveals what has already been reported. Importantly, the NU administration, Fitzgerald, and Maggie Hickey were aware of this from the get-go. So the idea that the recording will exonerate anyone is seems inaccurate.

Here is Rittenberg's July 9 article: https://www.espn.com/college-footba...ach-pat-fitzgerald-failed-not-stopping-hazing

A current Northwestern player, who asked to remain anonymous, also told ESPN on Sunday that the former player, whose hazing allegations late in 2022 launched the investigation, informed him of a detailed plan with the sole objective to take down Fitzgerald. The current player on Sunday relayed a conversation he said he had early this year with the former player to Northwestern trustees and other influential university figures.

"He just kept emphasizing, 'Yeah, it'll be OK. I'm just trying to get Coach Fitz fired,'" the current player told ESPN. "I don't think he ever acknowledged what he's saying is not true. It was just like, 'I might embellish or exaggerate to get Coach Fitz fired.' He said his sole goal was to see Coach Fitz rot in jail.

Here's Fitzgerald's lawsuit: https://www.winston.com/a/web/jPJ3e...int-final-with-cover-sheet-signed-final-1.pdf

See paragraph 66 on page 23:

[in November 2022...] A member of the Leadership Council informed Fitzgerald that a disgruntled member of the football team (the alleged Whistleblower) was planning to report false hazing allegation to Northwestern with the intention of having Fitzgerald's employment harmed and/or terminated.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Give it to DOJ to hold. We will be sure to hear it then via NYT or WaPo.

Too political?

Probably.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Rittenberg's early reporting and Fitgerald's lawsuit both reference the fact that the whistleblower made his plans known. If the recording exists, it presumably reveals what has already been reported. Importantly, the NU administration, Fitzgerald, and Maggie Hickey were aware of this from the get-go. So the idea that the recording will exonerate anyone is seems inaccurate.

Here is Rittenberg's July 9 article: https://www.espn.com/college-footba...ach-pat-fitzgerald-failed-not-stopping-hazing



Here's Fitzgerald's lawsuit: https://www.winston.com/a/web/jPJ3e...int-final-with-cover-sheet-signed-final-1.pdf

See paragraph 66 on page 23:

Contrarian point: this could be part of the reason that NU rolled with Fitz’s initial 2-week suspension, working under the guise that the complaints were mostly the trumped-up claims of a single complainant with somewhat wishy-washy confirmatory claims by others.

Either way, it’s quite interesting to me that NU is fighting tooth and nail to keep their initial report from going public. Per Fitz’s lawsuit, not even he or his legal team have the full investigation. Page 26, Paragraph 78 of the complaint.

 

[Hungry Jack]

Would you want to publicly release the recording if you knew that a pretty litigious person was on the other end of it? I wouldn’t want to get sued.

Of course not. Technically, it's illegal.

Obviously, it will never exist in a court of law. However, I do take some comfort in the fact that is publicly known, or at least rumored, that Richardson's actions are not nearly as pure as The Daily and others might want us to believe. Richardson is a little $hit.

 

[Hungry Jack]

Give it to DOJ to hold. We will be sure to hear it then via NYT or WaPo.

Too political?

DOJ? Maybe the FBI would leak it faster.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Of course not. Technically, it's illegal.

Obviously, it will never exist in a court of law. However, I do take some comfort in the fact that is publicly known, or at least rumored, that Richardson's actions are not nearly as pure as The Daily and others might want us to believe. Richardson is a little $hit.

Both the recording and Richardson’s general plan were far from a secret for those around the program.

 

[fcmchi]

Per this site in Illinois if the conversation were in public or there was no expectation of privacy, one person may legally record a conversation.

Illinois Recording Laws - Recording Law

Learn about Illinois audio and video recording laws. When/Where you can make recordings and general information. Easy to digest with simple answers

recordinglaw.com

 

[FeralFelidae]

Those team trainers sure clammed up, too. I wonder if a concerned citizen gave them some free law advice.

 

[curdog]

Of course not. Technically, it's illegal.

Obviously, it will never exist in a court of law. However, I do take some comfort in the fact that is publicly known, or at least rumored, that Richardson's actions are not nearly as pure as The Daily and others might want us to believe. Richardson is a little $hit.

Maybe the recording won’t be allowed in court but I assume Fitz attorneys will subpoena CR and ask him abput it.

 

[FeralFelidae]

Maybe the recording won’t be allowed in court but I assume Fitz attorneys will subpoena CR and ask him abput it.

If it's not allowed in court, then why would CR be compelled to say anything about it?

(I'm not a lawyer, so if this seems like a stupid question, sorry.)

 

[gocatsgo2003]

If it's not allowed in court, then why would CR be compelled to say anything about it?

(I'm not a lawyer, so if this seems like a stupid question, sorry.)

Also not a lawyer, but I would assume that there are ways around that — call the player who made the recording and anyone who was there at the time, ask them about what he was saying, then call Richardson to have him refute anything, get into his messy personal situation to paint him as an unreliable Whistleblower, etc.

Would get messy really quickly, but that’s all the more reason why I can’t imagine either Fitz or NU want this thing to even get to discovery (to say nothing of a trial).

 

[Overly_Invested_Cat]

Of course not. Technically, it's illegal.

Obviously, it will never exist in a court of law. However, I do take some comfort in the fact that is publicly known, or at least rumored, that Richardson's actions are not nearly as pure as The Daily and others might want us to believe. Richardson is a little $hit.

Aren't you glad that this little $hit helped Northwestern clean up the program? Regardless of his intentions -- relative to Fitz -- the end result is that the really gross and abusive practices have been eliminated from the program. Now we can all move forward feeling better about the program we love. Oh wait, some of you aren't seeing it this way. Are you?

 

[curdog]

If it's not allowed in court, then why would CR be compelled to say anything about it?

(I'm not a lawyer, so if this seems like a stupid question, sorry.)

Not a lawyer. But if counsel is aware a conversation took place germane to the case, they can subpoena both parties and ask questions. CR may have bitten off more than he can chew.

 

[NUCat320]

Not a lawyer. But I think this should all be solved with a series of sword fights.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Aren't you glad that this little $hit helped Northwestern clean up the program? Regardless of his intentions -- relative to Fitz -- the end result is that the really gross and abusive practices have been eliminated from the program. Now we can all move forward feeling better about the program we love. Oh wait, some of you aren't seeing it this way. Are you?

Nope. I tend to want to get the exact details instead of partial information before concluding the culture of the problem was abusive.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Aren't you glad that this little $hit helped Northwestern clean up the program? Regardless of his intentions -- relative to Fitz -- the end result is that the really gross and abusive practices have been eliminated from the program. Now we can all move forward feeling better about the program we love. Oh wait, some of you aren't seeing it this way. Are you?

The whole point is that the underlying practices might not have been nearly as “gross and abusive” as discussed publicly, because the kid was knowingly plotting to embellish or even fabricate claims to get Fitz fired.

The whole situation is not nearly as black and white as many make it to be.

 

[Hungry Jack]

Aren't you glad that this little $hit helped Northwestern clean up the program? Regardless of his intentions -- relative to Fitz -- the end result is that the really gross and abusive practices have been eliminated from the program. Now we can all move forward feeling better about the program we love. Oh wait, some of you aren't seeing it this way. Are you?

In a word, "yes." I am glad the dumb stuff that was going on will no longer go on. But it has come at an exorbitant cost, IMO, and one that could have been avoided with more skillful handling by Schill and Ggarg.

I am not convinced that the program had a serious cultural problem that was victimizing kids by the dozen. On balance, Fitz and NU have done much, much more good than harm.

I welcome the opportunity for a new head coach as an opportunity to return to having a competitive program that honors NU's academic excellence.

 

[CatManTrue]

I didn't say you heard the recording. I said you made a thread about it.

Did you not?

I did not. I’ve a couple of weak OPs get deleted but nothing of that sort.

 

[phatcat]

Rittenberg's early reporting and Fitgerald's lawsuit both reference the fact that the whistleblower made his plans known. If the recording exists, it presumably reveals what has already been reported. Importantly, the NU administration, Fitzgerald, and Maggie Hickey were aware of this from the get-go. So the idea that the recording will exonerate anyone is seems inaccurate.

Here is Rittenberg's July 9 article: https://www.espn.com/college-footba...ach-pat-fitzgerald-failed-not-stopping-hazing



Here's Fitzgerald's lawsuit: https://www.winston.com/a/web/jPJ3e...int-final-with-cover-sheet-signed-final-1.pdf

See paragraph 66 on page 23:

That's why you try to keep all of your players gruntled

 

[hdhntr1]

Give it to DOJ to hold. We will be sure to hear it then via NYT or WaPo.

Too political?

Only if he is a conservative

 

[phatcat]

The truly sad thing is that MSU, that paragon of virtue, has shown us how the administration should have handled it. This, from an institution whose interim president basically offered a bribe to a sex abuse victim

 

[gocatsgo2003]

The truly sad thing is that MSU, that paragon of virtue, has shown us how the administration should have handled it. This, from an institution whose interim president basically offered a bribe to a sex abuse victim

I mean… it’s pretty simple when the HC in question comes out and basically says “yep, I did all that stuff in the report” while trying to make it an issue of consent.

 

[hdhntr1]

O

DOJ? Maybe the FBI would leak it faster.

Only if he is a conservative

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Regarding the tape... I have only heard it played backwards and very slowly...

Shhhhhiiiilllllll gaaaavve thuuhhhh repooorrrt toooo thuuhhhh Dayleeeeee innnnn Jooooooooon.

 

[thewildcat2011]

See, the rock has plenty of benefits.

 

[NUCat320]

https://www.winston.com/a/web/kZKJVhnF3mVvUoiLkdcQQj/fitzgerald-complaint-exhibits.pdf

I just skimmed much of this.

It sounds to me like the Hickey-Fitzgerald interview was full of softballs. “This is what we’ve heard. Did you know about that?” “Nope.” “Okay.”

It’s pretty shocking that team Fitz didn’t get to read the report.

It’s also reported here that NU’s going-in position was two weeks, nothing more. Fitz simply considered, and agreed to it. In light of what was included in CR’s report (which matched the Daily’s story), it’s pretty shocking that that’s it. But also, Gragg is a stupid f*ck, and I have learned to expect no less.

The Fitz contract itself looks like a winner for team Fitz in this one. The termination clause holds him accountable for staff behavior, but not for player behavior.

It can be reasonably concluded that Gragg reviewed the report and settled on a two-week unpaid vacation. Then, The Daily published the *same* allegations, and started a well-deserved sh*tstorm. Then, Schill called Italy, confirmed that this was all in the report, and threw Fitz (rather than Gragg) under the bus with his ‘may have erred’ email.

Schill’s most powerful statement in the firing release itself was “This has never been about one student-athlete and his motives; this is much bigger than that.”

It doesn’t really matter if CR’s intent was to ‘get Fitz fired’. The investigation found that there was a pattern of widespread hazing, which has since been validated through multiple sources.


GRAGG IS A STUPID F*CKING DUMB DUMMY.

SCHILL IS A STUPID F*CKING DUMB DUMMY FOR TRUSTING GRAGG TO HANDLE THIS.


The lawsuit repeatedly misrepresents the report, asserting that the report concluded that Fitz did not know there was hazing, which is very different from “there is no specific evidence that Fitz knew.” It is very similar to when people represent a “not guilty” verdict as the defendant being declared “innocent”.