**Running College Football Updates Thread**

[TFloss32]

Interesting development.  Apparently the Mountain West thinks San Diego State has already crossed the Rubican. 

https://news.google.com/articles/CBMif2h0dHBzOi8vc3BvcnRzLnlhaG9vLmNvbS9tb3VudGFpbi13ZXN0LWluc2lzdHMtc2FuLWRpZWdvLXN0YXRlLWhhcy1sZWZ0LXRoZS1jb25mZXJlbmNlLWFuZC1pdC13YW50cy1pdHMtZXhpdC1mZWUtMDQ0NzE0NTM4Lmh0bWzSAYcBaHR0cHM6Ly9zcG9ydHMueWFob28uY29tL2FtcGh0bWwvbW91bnRhaW4td2VzdC1pbnNpc3RzLXNhbi1kaWVnby1zdGF0ZS1oYXMtbGVmdC10aGUtY29uZmVyZW5jZS1hbmQtaXQtd2FudHMtaXRzLWV4aXQtZmVlLTA0NDcxNDUzOC5odG1s?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen

 

[TFloss32]

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[TFloss32]

Bizarre story.

 

[TFloss32]

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[UTfish]

2 hours ago, TFloss32 said:

Wonder what the average NIL deal was for Longhorn football players.

 

[BWilk55]

6 hours ago, TFloss32 said:

Bizarre story.

I am not sure that the documentation from the 3rd party investigation is public, but it has been reported that the investigation generally supported the accusations but did stop short of saying the Fitzgerald had knowledge of what was going on.

So, how does a 3rd party investigation, with of course some bias towards finding NW to be innocent as that is who hired them, agree to the accusations if it didn't happen?

 

[BWilk55]

I am not sure that the documentation from the 3rd party investigation is public, but it has been reported that the investigation generally supported the accusations but did stop short of saying the Fitzgerald had knowledge of what was going on.

So, how does a 3rd party investigation, with of course some bias towards finding NW to be innocent as that is who hired them, agree to the accusations if it didn't happen?

and of course the current players have bias to deny it happened.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

and of course the current players have bias to deny it happened.

Thats not necessarily true. There's probably many players who are disgruntled with Fitz, simply because they don't win much.

 

[63_Texas_1]

I am not sure that the documentation from the 3rd party investigation is public, but it has been reported that the investigation generally supported the accusations but did stop short of saying the Fitzgerald had knowledge of what was going on.

So, how does a 3rd party investigation, with of course some bias towards finding NW to be innocent as that is who hired them, agree to the accusations if it didn't happen?

Good question. Perhaps Winston Churchill's observation in 1939 about the role of the Soviet Union might be could best describe the answer: "A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma."

 

[TFloss32]

Northwestern's communication guy decides it's a convenient time for a new job.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

7 minutes ago, TFloss32 said:

Northwestern's communication guy decides it's a convenient time for a new job.

Would that be considered a step up for him?

 

[TFloss32]

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[BWilk55]

Thats not necessarily true. There's probably many players who are disgruntled with Fitz, simply because they don't win much.

Sure, but they also don't want to be labeled as teammate humpers for the rest of their lives either. Better for them to say this isn't true and save face.

I just can't see how this isn't true, at least to some degree, with a 3rd party agreeing with the allegations and NW now deciding to fire Fitzgerald.

 

[bctex1106]

3 hours ago, TFloss32 said:

This "guilty until proven innocent" society we've created is so tired. Story has been out for only a few days? Obviously not enough time for a real investigation by NW, and even worse that in the report it's noted there's no credible evidence that PF knew what was happening. 

If he knew, then screw him. If not, this is pretty messed up. My point being, it's a matter of due process...and society seems to be okay throwing that concept out the window these days. Its sad. 

 

[BWilk55]

This "guilty until proven innocent" society we've created is so tired. Story has been out for only a few days? Obviously not enough time for a real investigation by NW, and even worse that in the report it's noted there's no credible evidence that PF knew what was happening. 

If he knew, then screw him. If not, this is pretty messed up. My point being, it's a matter of due process...and society seems to be okay throwing that concept out the window these days. Its sad. 

These allegations were made a while ago. The university has already completed an independent 3rd party investigation that generally agreed with the allegations and that these things occurred. 

To your point, they were unable to determine if Fitz knew these things were happening. That said, as a head football coach, your ignorance to these activities in your locker room does not absolve you of wrongdoing. You should be aware of things like this going on. Further, plenty of data points that point to him actually knowing, at least in part. 

Finally, due process and innocent until proven guilty are legal concepts in a court room, not in an employment environment. If you, as the CEO of an organization, allow these things to occur on your watch, that is easily reason for extermination.

 

[TFloss32]

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[bctex1106]

These allegations were made a while ago. The university has already completed an independent 3rd party investigation that generally agreed with the allegations and that these things occurred. 

To your point, they were unable to determine if Fitz knew these things were happening. That said, as a head football coach, your ignorance to these activities in your locker room does not absolve you of wrongdoing. You should be aware of things like this going on. Further, plenty of data points that point to him actually knowing, at least in part. 

Finally, due process and innocent until proven guilty are legal concepts in a court room, not in an employment environment. If you, as the CEO of an organization, allow these things to occur on your watch, that is easily reason for extermination.

Thanks for the correction on the timing and what's happened. I was going based on what I've seen over the last few days in the sports media as I've mostly disconnected from the traditional social media environment because it's filled with nonsense.

 

[BWilk55]

Thanks for the correction on the timing and what's happened. I was going based on what I've seen over the last few days in the sports media as I've mostly disconnected from the traditional social media environment because it's filled with nonsense.

No problem and I appreciate your reply.

My understanding in brief is that this investigation was triggered about 6 months ago after a whistleblower made reports of hazing. A private 3rd party completed the investigation and gave their findings to the university that included confirmation that these activities had been going on. They were unable to prove if Fitzgerald/coaching staff knew about them or not. 

The university decided to suspend Fitzgerald for 2 weeks https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2023/07/northwestern-announces-actions-to-prevent-hazing-following-football-investigation/. This seemed to be about the softest punishment one could fathom but that in and of itself raised a lot of questions regarding what exactly the hazing activities consisted of.

A student newspaper interviewed at least 2 players, one of which was the whistleblower, and published a report that provided details about what the hazing actually involved. https://dailynorthwestern.com/2023/07/08/top-stories/former-nu-football-player-details-hazing-allegations-after-coach-suspension/ To my knowledge the specific details of this report have only been confirmed by the report itself as the 3rd party investigation is not public in anyway.

After this report went public there was a lot of push back regarding the punishment and I do think this is what led to the university firing Fitzgerald.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

Initially, they were not going to fire Fitz because he wasn't aware or they couldn't prove he was aware.

Then they backtracked and decided that as HC, what happens under your umbrella is your responsibility regardless of whether you knew or not.

I tend to agree with that.

 

[TFloss32]

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