Former Northwestern players insist program was 'rampant' with sexual violence
Former Northwestern football players Lloyd Yates, Warren Miles-Long, Simba Short and Tom Carnifax met with reporters Wednesday with their attorneys to discuss the recent findings against the football program.
The players spoke on the toxic environment under Pat Fitzgerald, including accusations that the program was “rampant” with sexual violence and sexual assault. Warren Long said this explicitly off the bat:
Warren Long describes Northwestern as a program where “sexual violence and sexual assault was rampant.”
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) July 19, 2023
Lloyd Yates, who played QB for the Wildcats, added that he believes the program let him and several other players down, saying they were ” thrown into a culture where physical, emotional and sexual abuse was normalized.”
He later added that some players contemplated suicide because of the trauma, mentioning it was especially difficult for “players of color.”
Lloyd Yates: “We were physically and emotionally beaten down, and some players have contemplated suicide as a result.” Says it was especially difficult for players of color.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) July 19, 2023
Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the group of 15 former athletes, insists that players who attempted to say something about the situation were “retaliated against.”
Ben Crump: “People ask, ‘Why didn’t they say something?’ Some of them did try to say something and they were retaliated against.” Notes others were frightened to come forward.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) July 19, 2023