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Former Northwestern player says assistant coach witnessed hazing, per report
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There was more disturbing news to report about the Northwestern hazing scandal on Thursday. An ex-player Northwestern player revealed that one of the assistant coaches witnessed the hazing and laughed at players participating, according to a report from USA Today’s Josh Peter.
Ramon Diaz played OL at Northwestern from 2005-2008. He stated that current Associate HC Matt McPherson would move in and out of the locker room, laughing at players who were a part of the hazing.
(Warning: Some of the details include mention of sexual assault and could be triggering for some individuals)
“He would come in and laugh at the guy(s) who was doing the naked pull-ups,’’ said Diaz.
Diaz stated that the pull-ups took place at Camp Kenosha in Wisconsin, where the team would spend time during some of the preseason.
Former HC Pat Fitzgerald was fired as a result of the hazing scandal.
Here’s how a former player described one of the hazing rituals known as “running” per a report from The Daily Northwestern:
(Warning: Some of the details include mention of sexual assault and could be triggering for some individuals)
If a player was selected for “running,” the player who spoke to The Daily said, they would be restrained by a group of 8-10 upperclassmen dressed in various “Purge-like” masks, who would then begin “dry-humping” the victim in a dark locker room.
“It’s a shocking experience as a freshman to see your fellow freshman teammates get ran, but then you see everybody bystanding in the locker room,” the player said. “It’s just a really abrasive and barbaric culture that has permeated throughout that program for years on end now.”
It’s worth noting that all the assistants on Fitzgerald’s staff have been retained, including McPherson.
Stay tuned as more updates continue to come out about the culture of the football program in Evanston.
Grant Bricker covers the B1G for Saturday Tradition. His previous stops include the Williamson Homepage and Nashville Post.