Fitzgerald suing NU for $130M for wrongful firing
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Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
CHICAGO — Former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald filed a wrongful termination lawsuit Thursday against the university and president Michael Schill, in which he is seeking in excess of $130 million for lost earnings as well as reputational and punitive damages.
Fitzgerald alleges Northwestern unlawfully fired him for cause July 10, three days after announcing a two-week suspension as part of corrective measures from a university-commissioned hazing investigation into the program. Northwestern’s investigation, led by attorney Maggie Hickey, found that while claims of hazing from a former player were largely corroborated, there was not sufficient evidence Fitzgerald and other coaches and staff had knowledge of the incidents.
Attorney Dan Webb, who filed the lawsuit, said Northwestern fired Fitzgerald based on “no new facts, no new developments whatsoever, zero.” Schill said July 8, hours after The Daily Northwestern reported details of the hazing allegations from the former player, that he “may have erred” with the initial discipline for Fitzgerald. Schill fired Fitzgerald two days later.
Webb said Fitzgerald and Northwestern reached an “oral agreement” before the two-week suspension was announced that the coach would face no further discipline from the university.
“The fact that he was terminated based on no rational reasons or facts whatsoever, the fact that they’ve gone out and destroyed his reputation as one of the best football coaches in America, based on no legitimate reason or evidence, is disgraceful,” said Webb, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois who now serves as co-executive chairman of the Winston & Strawn law firm. “It’s despicable conduct on behalf of Northwestern. My client and his family are entitled to their day in court for justice.”
After conducting interviews with dozens of former Northwestern players and coaches, Webb said he does not believe “any significant hazing occurred” within the program but noted that new evidence could emerge at trial. He has asked for but not received Hickey’s full investigative report; the university released an executive summary July 7 in announcing Fitzgerald’s suspension. The lawsuit states that Fitzgerald fully cooperated with the investigation and was never confronted with any evidence he knew about hazing within the program.
Since Webb is opposing Northwestern, he cannot talk to current players or coaches but expects to call them as witnesses at trial.
“They’re going to say they didn’t see any significant hazing other than horseplay … between young men in the locker room,” Webb said of those he has interviewed.
The lawsuit states that Fitzgerald met with Northwestern general counsel Stephanie Graham and athletic director Derrick Gragg on July 3. They presented him a plan where he would accept some punishment because of the findings in the investigation.
“Gragg also stated that Schill felt Fitzgerald needed to ‘take a hit’ for the findings summarized in the Hickey Report, even though the Hickey Report concluded that Fitzgerald and his staff did not know about any hazing activities within the Northwestern football program,” the lawsuit reads. “Gragg and Graham told Fitzgerald that if he agreed to this plan, wanted the two week suspension to coincide with Fitzgerald’s two-week vacation, so Fitzgerald could attend an important recruiting event on Northwestern’s behalf shortly after his suspension ended.”
Webb said the anonymous whistleblower who first came forward in November “had a grudge against … Coach Fitzgerald” and that the player’s plan to report false allegations of hazing was reported to Fitzgerald by a teammate during a leadership council meeting in November. A current player told ESPN in July that the whistleblower had informed him of a detailed plan with the sole objective to take down Fitzgerald. The current player relayed a conversation he said he had with the former player early this year to Northwestern trustees and other influential university figures.
In a response to Thursday’s lawsuit, Northwestern said “multiple current or former” players under Fitzgerald admitted to investigators hazing that “included nudity and sexualized acts” occurred. The university also referred to the lawsuits filed by more than a dozen former Northwestern football players against the university — many named Fitzgerald and Schill as defendants — alleging they experienced and/or witnessed hazing while in the program under Fitzgerald, who led Northwestern’s program from July 2006 until earlier this year.
A two-time national defensive player of the year at Northwestern, Fitzgerald was the winningest coach in team history, going 110-101.
“As head coach of the football program for 17 years, Patrick Fitzgerald was responsible for the conduct of the program,” Northwestern said in a statement. “He had the responsibility to know that hazing was occurring and to stop it. He failed to do so. … The safety of our students remains our highest priority, and we deeply regret that any student-athletes experienced hazing. We remain confident that the University acted appropriately in terminating Fitzgerald and we will vigorously defend our position in court.”
Responding to the claim Fitzgerald should have known about what was happening, Webb said, “That’s a ridiculous allegation, not supported by any evidence whatsoever.”
Webb said the out-of-pocket damages he is seeking for Fitzgerald include $68 million that remained on his contract, which ran through 2030, as well as future earnings losses of approximately $62 million. The lawsuit also is claiming reputational damages, emotional distress and punitive damages. Webb intends to call an expert witness who will show that Fitzgerald will “not work again at the same level, ever again.”
The lawsuit also claims no Northwestern player, coach or staff member ever reported hazing allegations directly to Fitzgerald. According to the claim, an anonymous complaint was submitted to the athletic department in August 2022 of “serious misconduct and hazing,” which Northwestern and police investigated and determined was unfounded.
Webb noted Fitzgerald was proactive with anti-hazing training and told players, including freshmen and transfers, of a zero-tolerance policy within the program. Players also had several outlets to report hazing and mistreatment.
Since July, Northwestern has implemented new mandatory anti-hazing training for all its teams before each season and hired former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to conduct a larger review of how allegations are reported in the program.
“Northwestern’s hired a former attorney general that’s going to come in and tell Northwestern where they somehow went wrong and could find a better program,” Webb said. “Well, they’re not going to find it. My expert’s going to explain to the jury that what Fitzgerald did was truly second to none in any coaching program in the United States.”
Webb said he talked with Northwestern about an out-of-court settlement but was “unsuccessful.”
“Settlement’s always an option, but I have no reason to say that’s going to happen,” Webb said.
A group of attorneys representing players who have filed lawsuits against Northwestern issued a statement in response to Fitzgerald’s lawsuit.
“The filing of the lawsuit by former coach Patrick Fitzgerald is clearly all about financial gain for him and is incredibly tone deaf in defending his actions. His complaint ironically details claims that he was deeply involved in each player’s life, mental health, academic career, athletic performance and potential after graduation … all of which actually supports what we’ve been saying all along, that given the head coach’s proximity he knew or should have known what was happening in his program. This is the legal standard: knew or should have known about the abuse, and we feel strongly that the civil lawsuits brought by his former players have merit. Together we represent numerous former players who have provided detailed allegations of abuse. We are united in our goal to get them the justice they deeply deserve,” read the statement from the attorneys from Levin & Perconti, Ben Crump Law, Romanucci & Blandin and Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge.
Attorney Margaret Battersby Black said she has seen evidence from more than 80 victims of the Northwestern hazing scandal (far more than the number of lawsuits filed so far).
“That [Fitzgerald] allows his lawyer to so callously call these former family members liars shows you everything that you need to know about the culture that he established at this school,” Battersby Black said. “And he’s trying to continue to suppress and victimize these young men by painting himself as the victim.”
The NCAA Division I Board of Directors on Monday proposed deleting 153 longstanding rules from its handbook, a move that will allow schools to share financial benefits directly with players — an expected step towards a new era of amateurism in college athletics, but one that remains contingent upon the approval of the House settlement.
NCAA board members met for about four hours on Monday and emerged with nine major proposed legislative changes, including permission for schools to provide direct financial payments to players, including for use of their NIL. NCAA leaders are aiming to reshape the organization’s role and are poised to effectuate sweeping changes by July 1 if the settlement is approved. Schools have until June 15 to decide whether to opt to provide benefits that would be permissible under the settlement for the coming academic year.
Proposed legislation also includes sport-specific roster limits and allowing full scholarships to all student-athletes on a declared roster — a move the NCAA said will double the scholarships available in women’s sports.
The proposed changes would also align with the expected House settlement in that it would allow Power 4 schools and others who choose to offer settlement-related benefits to provide up to $20.5 million in direct financial benefits to players. (Not all Division I schools will choose to operate in the new system enabled by the settlement, as the Ivy League has chosen to opt out and continue to operate under the current structure.)
The new NIL clearinghouse and enforcement arm that aims to coexist with expected settlement terms was also included, along with rules “intended to bring clarity and stability to the NIL environment for all Division I schools.” To prevent schools from trying to circumvent the $20.5 million cap, the NCAA has proposed rules to help add stability and accountability. All players will be required to disclose their NIL agreements if they are greater or equal to $600. Agreements between the player and a third party outside of their school will be reviewed.
The board also approved new rules that would create technology platforms for the schools to monitor their payments to players and for the athletes to report their third-party NIL agreements. There are also steps the players can take if an NIL agreement is considered “outside of the range of compensation” developed by the external, independent clearinghouse.
An enforcement group that will be created and operated by the defendant conferences will aim to “provide oversight for rules relating to the terms of the settlement, including third-party NIL and the annual benefits cap,” according to the NCAA.
Players will still be allowed to hire agents for NIL purposes, but the NCAA will still use certain eligibility rules that have been used to “distinguish Division I athletics from professional sports,” according to a document that summarizes the legislative changes. For the athletes to receive these benefits, the NCAA will require them to be enrolled full-time, meet Division I progress-toward-degree requirements and earn the benefits during their five-year eligibility period.
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Ryan S. Clark
The Seattle Kraken are making a series of sweeping changes, starting with Monday’s announcement of coach Dan Bylsma’s firing after just one season.
“We thank Dan for his commitment and the energy he brought to our organization over the past four years at the NHL and AHL levels,” Kraken general manager Ron Francis said in a statement. “After a thorough review of the season and our expectations for next year and beyond, we’ve made the difficult decision to move in a different direction behind the bench.”
Other expected changes include Francis being named team president and assistant general manager Jason Botterill being promoted to general manager, a source confirmed to ESPN amid multiple media reports.
In addition, assistant coach Jessica Campbell, who is the first woman to be behind a bench in NHL history, is being retained, a source told ESPN. She signed a two-year contract with the club last season.
Seattle’s restructuring comes at a time in which the franchise is attempting to find cohesion that has been elusive since the NHL’s 32nd team made its debut in the 2021-22 season.
The Kraken, who fired Dave Hakstol last season, will be searching for their third head coach in as many seasons.
Bylsma, who previously coached the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins, had coached the Kraken’s AHL affiliate — where Campbell was also an assistant — for two seasons. They would lead the Coachella Valley Firebirds to consecutive AHL championship game appearances before being promoted to the NHL.
Hiring Bylsma came with the belief that he could parlay his AHL success into the Kraken either returning to the playoffs or being a team that challenged for a postseason berth for most of the season.
It was more of the same, however. After winning 34 games in Hakstol’s final season, the Kraken won 35 games while finishing 20 points adrift of the final Western Conference wild-card spot in what ultimately became Bylsma’s lone campaign.
With the playoffs out of the picture, the Kraken were active ahead of the NHL trade deadline. They received 2026 and 2027 first-round picks from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forwards Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde while receiving additional draft capital in separate deals for Brandon Tanev and Daniel Sprong.
While they have a three-player restricted free agent class that’s led by Kaapo Kakko, the No. 2 pick of the 2019 NHL draft who was acquired in a trade this season, the Kraken have most of their team under contract next season.
They also have more than $21.7 million in projected available cap space that could be used to strengthen a roster that’s trying to challenge in a Western Conference landscape that saw 11 teams finish with more than 89 points.
Francis is slated to speak with reporters Tuesday afternoon, when he will likely address the Kraken’s future and his role going forward. The Hall of Famer had previously served as the Carolina Hurricanes‘ GM before he was hired to take over the Kraken.
His time in charge has seen the franchise seek to build from within using the draft while also dipping into free agency. It has led to the Kraken building what is one of the stronger farm systems in the NHL. But after again missing the playoffs and having mixed results in free agency, questions have emerged about what direction the franchise would be taking and if Francis would be involved.
Botterill, who has been with the Kraken since the 2020-21 season, was the Sabres’ GM for three seasons. Under his stead, Buffalo drafted talents such as Casey Mittelstadt, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson and Dylan Cozens as the team sought to insulate then-star center and captain Jack Eichel.
Now, Botterill will be faced with trying to make the Kraken competitive in a market where the team has struggled to gain traction while also being one of the most expensive to watch, according to the Fan Cost Index.
He’ll be charged with trying to find a new coach in what’s expected to be an active market. The Kraken now join the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers as teams seeking a new bench boss.
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