NU preps for season with anti-hazing program
-
Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Northwestern athletic director Derrick Gragg praised the school’s football players and coaches for displaying “collective resilience” in preparing for the season, including their participation in anti-hazing training last month.
Gragg, who will attend Sunday’s season opener against Rutgers alongside university president Michael Schill, told ESPN that the team has “done everything we’ve asked them to do” since the firing of longtime coach Pat Fitzgerald on July 10 in the wake of hazing allegations against the program.
Northwestern brought in Protection For All, a consulting firm run by former college athletes Mike McCall and Dan Beebe — also the former Big 12 commissioner — to conduct in-person training on Aug. 3, before the team’s first preseason practice.
The training, which all Northwestern teams will go through before the start of their seasons, covers physical and emotional harassment, discrimination, retaliation, bullying and sexual misconduct. Northwestern also had players meet with the Institute for Sport and Social Justice, which addressed topics such as inclusive leadership, bystander intervention and team culture.
The anti-hazing seminars were conducted in groups, starting with players only and then only with coaches.
In firing Fitzgerald, Schill said the Northwestern football culture had been partially “broken” by the hazing allegations, which were largely supported by a university-commissioned external investigation into the program.
“It was an intensive three-hour-session and [the consultants] said after about the first 10, 15 minutes, guys were relaxed, participating, understanding what they were supposed to do, and did everything that they were asked to do,” Gragg said. “I think everybody understands the importance of conducting themselves in a first-class manner, as it relates to being representatives of themselves, and their families and to this university.
“I think they took it very seriously.”
Beebe told ESPN that Northwestern is “committed to get to the right place,” and can benefit from learning about the consequences of hazing and other misconduct from people outside the program.
“You’ve got to put the cards on the table and recognize no matter what the issues are, people have different viewpoints, whether it’s hazing, sexual misconduct, all that,” Beebe said. “We’re risk managers and we’re here to tell you what the risks are going to be. Whether you agree or disagree, these are the issues that are going to come up when you have certain kind of conduct that’s going to degrade and humiliate other people.
“We’re there to explain what conduct you cannot engage in, or you’re going to have the risk of public scrutiny and legal action.”
No Northwestern players are facing discipline in the hazing scandal, as none were named in the school’s investigation or in any of the lawsuits filed by more than 10 former players against the university. Northwestern has looked into allegations involving Matt MacPherson, the team’s associate head coach and defensive backs coach, but he has continued to work and will coach in Sunday’s opener.
Gragg told ESPN that he does not anticipate further personnel changes with the program, although the university will investigate any specific claims against individuals if they surface. After a surge of lawsuits from former players in July and early August, none have been filed in the past few weeks.
Gragg commended interim coach David Braun and the staff for “keeping the team together.”
“They were committed to that from the start when we first convened a meeting with them back in July, and they’ve stayed true to that,” Gragg said. “They put in a great deal of work, not just obviously during camp, but for the last few months. I’ve been personally to many practices. I’ve watched them. The group seems spirited, they seem engaged, and I think they’re very well prepared and they’re well-organized. They’re ready to go.”
Former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch is conducting reviews of Northwestern’s overall athletics culture and the reporting systems for hazing and other misconduct. Gragg met virtually with Lynch for the first time Friday. Lynch’s reviews are likely to extend into 2024.
Lawsuits have been filed by a former volleyball player and by three former baseball staff members, alleging abuse. Northwestern has held several meetings with all of its sports’ head coaches since the hazing allegations came to light.
“The coaches, they want people to know that no one should be painted with a broad brush,” Gragg said. “We’ve had some challenges, but by and large, what they’ve built here collectively, especially at a school with high academic performance, is nothing short of amazing.”
In his first interview since Big Ten preseason media day, Gragg responded to an open letter sent Aug. 21 by 86 former Northwestern athletes, which criticized him and Schill for “a clear failure of unbiased and principled leadership” in how they handled Fitzgerald’s firing. The former players said Gragg’s repudiation of a T-shirt worn by players and coaches expressing support for Fitzgerald “worked to incite public opinion against his own program,” and that the athletic director “fosters an environment of uncertainty, distrust, and censorship” in the athletic department.
“When you’re in a position like this, leadership on this level, you have to come to expect scrutiny, criticism,” said Gragg, who was hired by Northwestern in 2021. “There’s a lot of emotion, again, a lot of relationships that are tied into this situation, and I understand that. … At the end of the day, whether people are supportive of the leadership or not, or the decisions that were made, I always go right back to the student-athletes.
“They really need our support right now. Their lives have changed dramatically.”
Gragg said Northwestern has avoided a large drop-off in season-ticket sales. (The team plays its home opener Sept. 9 against UTEP.) Northwestern’s plans to rebuild Ryan Field also remain on track, he said, as former board chair Pat Ryan and his family, who are largely funding the plan, are “still very interested in moving forward with the project.” Gragg said two of Ryan’s sons recently attended practice to meet Braun.
Northwestern will begin its search for Fitzgerald’s permanent successor later this fall, as Gragg said his focus remains on the current team.
“We’re just asking everybody, continue to support us, support the student-athletes,” he said. “We’re moving forward, we’re excited about this year, and we have a great deal of inner support. I’m excited about being the leader here.”
NEW YORK — Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber topped Mark McGwire for most home runs among a player’s first 1,000 hits, hitting long ball No. 319 during Friday night’s 12-5 victory over the New York Yankees.
“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not,” Schwarber said.
Ten days after lifting the National League to victory in the first All-Star Game swing-off, Schwarber keeps going deep. He hit a pair of two-run homers Friday night, with the first drive, his milestone hit, starting the comeback from a 2-0 deficit. He got the ball back after it was grabbed by a Phillies fan attending with his friends in Yankee Stadium’s right-center-field seats.
“I saw it on the video and then I see the dude tugging,” Schwarber said. “I’m like: ‘Oh, they all got Philly stuff on.’ That was cool.”
He met the trio after the game, gave an autographed ball to each and exchanged hugs. When he went to get a third ball to autograph, one of the three said he just wanted the potential free agent to re-sign with the Phillies.
“You show up to the field every single day trying to get a win at the end of the day, and I think our fans kind of latch on to that, right?” Schwarber said. “It’s been fantastic these last 3½ years, four years now. The support that we get from our fans and it means a lot to me that, you know, that they attach themselves to our team.”
Schwarber tied it at 2-2 in the fifth against Will Warren when he hit a 413-foot drive on a first-pitch fastball.
After J.T. Realmuto‘s three-run homer off Luke Weaver built a 6-3 lead in a four-run seventh and the Yankees closed within a run in the bottom half, Schwarber sent an Ian Hamilton fastball 380 feet into the right-field seats.
Schwarber reached 1,000 hits with eight more homers than McGwire. Schwarber has 36 homers this year, three shy of major league leader Cal Raleigh, and six homers in seven games since he was voted All-Star MVP. He has 33 multihomer games.
“I don’t know where we’d be without him,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “Comes up with big hit after big hit after big hit. It’s just — it’s amazing.”
Schwarber, 32, is eligible for free agency this fall after completing a four-year, $79 million contract. He homered on all three of his swings in the All-Star Game tiebreaker, and when the second half began, Phillies managing partner John Middleton proclaimed: “We love him. We want to keep him.”
“He’s been an incredible force all season long,” Realmuto said. “What he’s meant to his team, his offense, it’s hard to put in words.”
A World Series champion for the 2016 Chicago Cubs, Schwarber has reached 35 homers in all four seasons with the Phillies. He’s batting .255 with 82 RBIs and a .960 OPS.
He also has almost as many home runs as singles (46).
Schwarber had not been aware he topped McGwire for most homers among 1,000 hits.
“I had no clue. I didn’t even know it was my 1,000th, to be honest with you,” he said.
-
Jorge Castillo
NEW YORK — The Yankees on Friday acquired third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for minor league pitchers Griffin Herring and Josh Grosz, the teams announced.
The Yankees assumed the remainder of McMahon’s contract, which includes approximately $4.5 million for the rest of 2025 and $32 million over the next two seasons, a source told ESPN.
An All-Star last season, McMahon, 30, was batting .217 with 16 home runs, a .717 OPS and a National League-leading 127 strikeouts in 100 games for Colorado in 2025. After a dreadful start to the season through April, he has been significantly better, with a .246 batting average, 14 home runs and an .804 OPS. He hit home runs in the first two games after the All-Star break and another Tuesday. He is on pace to keep his four-year 20-homer streak alive.
Defensively, McMahon is a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman whose four Outs Above Average is third in the majors this season. He joins a Yankees club that has been marred by sloppy defense. On Wednesday, the Yankees committed four errors against the American East-leading Toronto Blue Jays.
“He has had some ups and downs offensively this year,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of McMahon. “I know, over the last month, he’s really swinging the bat well, but he’s a presence, and he can really defend over there at third and has for a number of years. So, we’re excited to get him.”
Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who began Friday with 36 home runs and an MLB-leading 86 RBIs, could be the best hitter moved before the July 31 trade deadline, but the Yankees were not particularly aggressive in pursuing him, a source told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Though McMahon’s offensive production resulted in a 92 OPS+, which suggests he has been 8% worse than the average major league hitter this season, he’s still a significant offensive upgrade at third base for New York. The Yankees have had Oswald Peraza, one of the worst hitters in the majors, playing third base nearly every day since the club released DJ LeMahieu, another former Rockies player, earlier this month and moved Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second base.
Peraza, though a strong defender, is slashing .147/.208/.237 in 69 games this season. His 24 wRC+ ranks last among the 310 hitters with at least 160 plate appearances this season.
McMahon has played his first eight-plus seasons with the Rockies. They selected him in the second round of the 2013 draft. He debuted four years later and became a regular in 2019. By then, the Rockies were descending to the bottom of the NL West. This year, they’re 26-76 and could finish with the most losses in major league history.
He leaves that environment for New York’s pressure cooker and a club with World Series aspirations, a change the Yankees hope can help McMahon.
“Hopefully, the environment is a great thing for him, that he falls into that and doesn’t have to be the guy,” Boone said. “Go do your thing. Go find the role. But it’s our job — my job, staff, coaches, players — to make sure they’re welcomed and get them as comfortable as possible.”
The price for McMahon — and his team control over the next two seasons — was a pair of pitchers who have not reached Double-A.
Herring, 22, has a 1.71 ERA in 89⅓ innings across 16 starts between Low- and High-A this season. He was a sixth-round pick out of LSU in the 2024 draft.
Grosz, an 11th-round pick in 2023, had a 4.14 ERA in 87 innings over 16 games (15 starts) for High-A Hudson Valley this season.
With third base addressed, the Yankees will seek to acquire pitchers to bolster their rotation and bullpen. Luis Gil‘s return should help. The right-hander, who has been out all season because of a lat injury, made his third rehab start Wednesday. Boone said there’s “a good chance” Gil gets another start in the minors before making his season debut.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike