Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern’s former head football coach, is suing the university for at least $130 million over his termination in July after current and former players alleged severe hazing occurred during his tenure.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court, alleges breach of contract and names Northwestern and university President Michael Schill as defendants. Fitzgerald is represented by a team of attorneys from Winston & Strawn led by Co-Executive Chairman Dan Webb.
At a news conference Thursday morning in Winston & Strawn’s Chicago office, Webb opened by praising Fitzgerald as “the single most respected and successful” coach in Northwestern football’s history.
“If there was ever an athletic coach at Northwestern University that should not have been terminated, it’s Coach Fitzgerald,” Webb said. “It’s despicable conduct on behalf of Northwestern, and my client and his family are entitled to their day in court for justice.”
Fitzgerald was not present at the conference. Webb said he was likely at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, where he now helps coach the school’s football team as a parent volunteer.
Breach of ‘oral contract’ alleged
Central to the lawsuit is Fitzgerald’s allegation that he established an “oral contract” with Northwestern prior to his termination. Webb said that when the university’s investigation into whistleblower allegations of hazing concluded, Fitzgerald agreed to accept a two-week unpaid suspension in exchange for a promise of no further disciplinary action.
Webb said this contract was fulfilled when the investigation’s executive summary was released on July 7, but was then put in doubt by Schill after The Daily Northwestern published an article detailing the whistleblower’s allegations on July 8.
Schill announced Fitzgerald’s termination on July 10, writing that his decision stemmed from reflecting on “what we should reasonably expect” from head coaches such as Fitzgerald.
Webb called this decision an “extraordinary breach of contract,” and alleged the only reason Schill made it was the public scrutiny drawn by The Daily’s reporting, since the university had been aware of the whistleblower’s allegations since November 2022.
“There was nothing new [in The Daily’s article], it’s the same allegations by the whistleblower,” Webb said. “But it appears President Schill didn’t like the heat, and he read the article and he said, ‘You know what, I’m going to breach the contract.’”
Out of this, Fitzgerald is claiming $130 million in damages for alleged breach of the oral contract in July and of his written employment contract. Webb said this total was reached from the $68 million Northwestern would have paid Fitzgerald over the remaining eight years of his contract, and a calculation of $62 million Fitzgerald allegedly lost in future compensation.
Fitzgerald is also alleging four other counts, including defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, against both the university and Schill. Webb said damages for these claims, as well as overall punitive damages against Northwestern, will be up to a jury to calculate.
“I want a jury to hear the facts and evidence, and they will decide … how much his family’s entitled to,” Webb said.
In a statement emailed to the RoundTable, Northwestern spokesperson Jon Yates wrote that the independent investigation found “beyond question that hazing … took place on Fitzgerald’s watch” through interviews with current and former players “across a range of years.”
Fitzgerald “had the responsibility to know that hazing was occurring and to stop it. He failed to do so,” Yates wrote. “We remain confident that the University acted appropriately in terminating Fitzgerald and we will vigorously defend our position in court.”
‘What more could he have done?’
While answering reporters’ questions, Webb focused on Fitzgerald’s alleged lack of knowledge of any hazing in the football program. He said Fitzgerald developed “one of the best due diligence programs in America” to prevent hazing and address it if it happened, and said
“What more could he have done?” Webb asked. “He had procedures in place to know about it, and no one came in and told him about it. That’s what the evidence is.”
He also emphasized that the executive summary of Northwestern’s outside investigation said it found “no evidence at all” that Fitzgerald or other coaches were aware of any hazing, and that Schill had restated this in his public statements.
Webb was somewhat less decisive when addressing whether or not hazing actually occurred during Fitzgerald’s tenure. He said the extent of any hazing would be determined in court, and added that Northwestern had refused to share the full investigative report with him.
“Now that I’ve filed the lawsuit, I have discovery, and so I have the right“ to obtain the full report, Webb said. “But I did ask for it, and they wouldn’t give it to me.”
The two-page executive summary of the independent investigation, released on July 7, 2023, states that while “current and former players varied on their perspective of the conduct,” the whistleblower’s claims “were largely supported by the evidence gathered during the investigation.” It also states that “there had been significant opportunities” for Fitzgerald and other coaches to “discover and report the hazing conduct.”
Beyond the investigation report, Webb said that while he can’t interview current players and coaches under rules of ethics, he and his team have interviewed “a huge number” of former players and coaches who played or worked during Fitzgerald’s tenure. He said these interviewees will testify during trial that “they didn’t see any significant hazing other than horseplay.”
A reporter later asked Webb how he defines “horseplay.”
“Former football players and coaches, they say in every locker room, there’s a little horseplay, where they make fun of somebody, or touch them – not sexually, I’m not talking about anything like that,” Webb said. “I’m talking about slapping them on the arm or whatever, having a fight in the shower. That’s what I was told, OK? That’s what I’m calling horseplay.”
Separately from Fitzgerald’s lawsuit, numerous former Northwestern student-athletes from different programs have filed or reportedly plan to file lawsuits against the university alledging hazing, discrimination and sexual abuse and trafficking.
When asked about these lawsuits, Webb said, “People will always follow on to take advantage of a situation.”
“I am skeptical that there’s any significant hazing,” he said.
Attorneys for former players respond
Following Webb’s media event, several law offices representing former players suing Northwestern called a joint news conference to respond.
At the news conference, attorney Steven Levin said Webb had implied their clients were “opportunistic liars.”
“According to Fitz’s corporate lawyer, Northwestern University, its administration, its officials, dozens and dozens of football players … all decided to conspire to make up a story that Fitz did certain things,” Levin said.
Webb’s news conference, Levin said, had “two purposes: to intimidate our clients, who will not be intimidated, and to try to get his client $130 million.”
Attorney Margaret Battersby Black said the players’ attorneys have spoken to numerous former players who have corroborated their clients’ hazing allegations.
“I have spoken to individual after individual who have been victimized by the Northwestern football program with Fitz at the helm,” Battersby Black said. “That he [Fitzgerald] allows his lawyer to so callously call these former ‘family members’ [players] liars shows you everything that you need to know about the culture that he established at this school.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include additional statements from attorneys representing former players suing Northwestern and Fitzgerald, as well as additional information from the executive summary of Northwestern’s independent investigation.
Fitzgerald’s full complaint and attached exhibits can be read below.
“I have spoken to individual after individual who have been victimized by the Northwestern football program with Fitz at the helm,” Battersby Black said. “That he [Fitzgerald] allows his lawyer to so callously call these former ‘family members’ [players] liars shows you everything that you need to know about the culture that he established at this school.”
This!!! My thoughts too. Add this to the cheerleaders suit and it’s not hard to see what a mess the culture is at NU sports. They need to clean house from the top to the bottom and if they were smart would also move down a division.