In a statement issued to NBC Chicago on Saturday, a school spokesman said, 'Our first priority is to support and protect our students, including the young man who brought these matters to our attention.'
The investigation was launched in December 2022 and led by Maggie Hickey of ArentFox Schiff, the former inspector general of Illinois, the school said. It included interviews with current and former players, coaches and staff, as well as a review of thousands of documents.“I was very disappointed when I heard about the allegations of hazing on our football team,” Fitzgerald said in a statement.
The Daily Northwestern reported that the whistleblower detailed other specific hazing practices, alleging that he witnessed instances of freshman team members being forced to strip naked and perform various acts, such as bear crawling and sling-shotting themselves across the room with exercise bands.
The player said he witnessed and was forced to participate in the hazing, in which a freshman quarterback would be forced to take an under-center snap while both players were naked. One player who spoke to The Daily Northwestern said that a friend of his who was forced to participate in the challenge felt sick and had trouble eating for several days afterwards.
The university said the investigation did not find evidence that coach staff knew about the hazing, but noted"investigators said that there had been opportunities for them to discover and report the hazing conduct."
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