A second former Northwestern football player has filed a lawsuit against the school, top university officials and former head coach Pat Fitzgerald in connection with a hazing scandal that has rocked the Wildcats football program.
According to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg, the suit is similar to one filed Tuesday in the Cook County Court in Chicago – except that it also includes current ACC commissioner Jim Phillips as a defendant. Phillips was the athletic director at Northwestern during a majority of the time when the alleged hazing took place.
As in the initial complaint, the player in the new case – identified as John Doe 2 – also played football at Northwestern from 2018-2022.
At least eight former Northwestern football players have retained attorneys following recent revelations that led to Fitzgerald’s firing and sharp criticism of university leadership for its initial response to the allegations.
Former Wildcats quarterback Lloyd Yates became the first Northwestern player to publicly open up when he told the Chicago Tribune he experienced sexualized and training camp hazing described as a “very degrading, dehumanizing, embarrassing act.”
An independent review by the school into alleged hazing led to the firing of Fitzgerald earlier this month.
