(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Northwestern University has hired former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to conduct a review after hazing allegations have rocked the school’s athletic department.
Lynch will be looking at how the university finds reports and responds to allegations of hazing, bullying and discrimination.
“The Athletics Department welcomes this review as a critical tool in identifying the additional steps Northwestern can take to eradicate hazing,” said Derrick Gragg, the university’s vice president for athletics and recreation.
Northwestern said it will publicly share the former U.S. attorney general’s report, which will also examine the athletic program’s culture.
Before the university’s president reversed course and fired head football Pat Fitzgerald in July, the school released a two-page executive summary of an earlier hazing investigation.
Multiple lawsuits have been brought against the university following the hazing scandal. On Over the past few days, two more lawsuits were filed by former Northwestern players who claimed they were victims of hazing and sexual abuse.
The latest suits alleged that the players were victimized by their teammates during preseason workouts and throughout their playing careers. They claimed Fitzgerald and other coaches were aware of the treatment.
In a press release, Northwestern President Michael Schill said “hazing has absolutely no place at Northwestern.”
“I am determined that, with the help of Attorney General Lynch, we will become a leader in combating the practice of hazing in intercollegiate athletics and a model for other universities,” Schill said.
Lynch, who’s now in private practice, was previously hired by Syracuse to look into its response to protests over racist incidents. That investigation took about a year. Lynch also investigated misconduct allegations among the owners of the now-Washington Commanders football teams.
Northwestern said its first session of in-person, anti-hazing training will begin with the football team on Thursday.
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