When a college football coach finds his name in the headlines in the early part of summer, it almost always means trouble. Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald has learned that first hand as his employer handed him a two-week unpaid suspension.

An independent investigation into a charge of hazing that took place last year before the start of the 2022 season has left Fitzgerald scrambling to explain the incident. Former Inspector General Maggie Hickey conducted the investigation concerning an incident that took place in the locker room at the team's preseason practice session at “Camp Kenosha,” located north of the Illinois border in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The details of the incident that has resulted in Fitzgerald's discipline have not been revealed at this point, and the coach attempted to diminish his own knowledge of the situation.

Pat Fitzgerald's response

“I was very disappointed when I heard about the allegations of hazing on our football team,” Fitzgerald said. “Although I was not aware of the alleged incidents, I have spoken to University officials, and they informed me of a two-week suspension, effective immediately.

“Northwestern football prides itself on producing not just athletes, but fine young men with character befitting the program and our University. We hold our student-athletes and our program to the highest standards; we will continue to work to exceed those standards moving forward.”

That statement comes off as something of a whitewash if Fitzgerald believes that it will keep reporters and fans from asking questions about what happened. It is unclear why the coaching staff and athletic department seemed reluctant to discuss the details.

The investigation concluded that the coaching staff did not know about the hazing, but that it had the opportunity “to discover and report the hazing conduct.”

The complaint indicated that individual players keyed the hazing and encouraged teammates to participate in that activity. The investigation did not place the blame on any specific players.  Despite that conclusion, Hickey's investigation said “participation in or knowledge of the hazing activities was widespread across football players.”

Insulting conclusion

A report from an independent investigator ruled that Northwestern players were involved in a hazing incident last summer. Yet, the head coach who has been in his position for 17 years knew nothing about it and none of the players involved have been named.

If the incident was serious enough to result in Fitzgerald's suspension, the details of the incident should be released.

If those details do not come out, the result is a whitewash of a situation that is likely quite serious. Hazing is no longer accepted in society. At the very least, players are ganging up on those who are not in a position to defend themselves.

If it's worse than that, the individuals involved and the coaches that turned a blind eye need to be held accountable.