As hazing scandal plays out at Northwestern, some lawyers say union for athletes might have helped
The Dallas-based attorney helped negotiate about $900 million in settlements in cases involving U.S. Olympic and national team gymnasts who were sexually assaulted under the guise of medical exams by sports physician Larry Nassar and by former athletes at Michigan who were victimized by the late Dr. Robert E. Anderson.
A decade after Northwestern was at the center of an attempt to establish the first college athletes union, the university is facing more than a dozen lawsuits across multiple sports with allegations including sexual abuse by teammates as well as racist comments by coaches and race-based assaults. The cases span from 2004 to 2022, and attorneys representing some of the athletes who have already sued say more are coming.
“At the end of the day, I don’t put this on the players - or the players not being organized,” said attorney Steve Levin, who is representing some of the athletes suing Northwestern. “This is, in my opinion, an administration problem. Northwestern had a clear-cut policy. That policy wasn’t followed. It should have just been ended, and the players should have never been in a position of having to have a voice to prevent it.
Judie Saunders, an attorney who has worked with Olympic and Division I athletes and specializes in survivors of assault, said she doesn’t see a union helping “in practice” when it comes to player-on-player abuse.
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