The Northwestern football hazing scandal has shocked the college football community over the past month and brought to light the hazing, racism, and degrading behavior that infiltrated the organization. Former head coach Pat Fitzgerald was allegedly knowledgeable of the hazing for years and actively encouraged it, resulting in his firing on July 10 after 17 years.

Fitzgerald has vehemently denied the accusations and is seeking legal action of his own. Amid the allegations, investigations, and lawsuits pending, several Wildcats football coaches and staffers are raising eyebrows after wearing shirts with disgraced former coach Pat Fitzgerald's old jersey number at practice Wednesday.

The coaches and staffers, including offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian, donned the shirts with Fitzgerald's old number “51” with the words “Cats Against the World” per Bradley Locker of the Northwestern Medill School of Journalism. The shirts seem like a message of support for former coach Pat Fitzgerald, by using both Fitzgerald's old number and the “Cats Against the World” slogan, referring to the team's mascot.

While it's unclear how the organization of these shirts was brought to life, Locker also reported, “Over the last few weeks, I reached out to the company that made these shirts, which were circulated by players on social media and available to buy until July 31. The company would not disclose if any Northwestern players/team members were involved in their creation.”

The shirts immediately came off as tone-deaf to many across the media. CBS Sports broadcaster Chris Williamson was one of many who reacted to the shirts saying, “this problem runs very very deep.”

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The Northwestern players are set to speak to the media later today for the first time since the scandal broke the news. It will  be interesting to see if any players speak out about the shirts.