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The Northwestern hazing and mistreatment scandal has found its way to the NFL. Green Bay Packers CEO Mark Murphy, a former athletic director at Northwestern, was named in a lawsuit Thursday filed by four former players.
Murphy was named by two former players, who both identified as “John Doe.” They played at Northwestern between 2004 and 2008, and that coincided with Murphy's term as the school's athletic director.
Murphy held that position between 2003 and 2007 before leaving to take over as the CEO for the Packers,
The latest lawsuit also names former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald and former university president Henry Bienen, who served in that position from 1995 to 2009. The school's board of trustees are also named as defendants.
The lawsuits alleged hazing, sexual abuse and racial discrimination all took place under Fitzgerald and that the coach had knowledge of the situation.
Specifically, the suit say Fitzgerald “knew and encouraged this behavior to happen to these very young and impressionable men.”
The former players alleged they were subjected to “running,” a hazing ritual where they were restrained and dry-humped by older teammates, during preseason training in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2004.
Neither Murphy nor the Green Bay Packers offered any comment after learning of the lawsuit.
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To this point, 13 former Northwestern players have filed lawsuits against the school since Fitzgerald was fired in July.
The claims have not identified the players who led the hazing activities. Northwestern is undertaking another investigation into the athletic department's culture.
The school announced Tuesday that former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch would lead the inquiry, and how the athletic department implements accountability and reporting mechanisms.
