Report: NU should improve anti-hazing training

Jun 27, 2024, 02:04 PM ET A team of private investigators led by previous U.S. Attorney general of the United States Loretta Lynch advised Northwestern improve its hazing avoidance training in the wake of a scandal that rocked the school’s athletic department.Though the report launched Thursday by the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Fort LLP stated “the results of our evaluation have actually been mainly positive,”private investigators found room for improvement when it came to preventing hazing throughout a nearly year-long evaluation.”Some individuals expressed an interest in more interactive and scenario-based anti-hazing trainings, while others thought a higher focus on bystander intervention would be valuable,”the report said. “Appropriately, we recommend that the Sports Department think about ways in which it can integrate more bystander intervention, interactive, and circumstance based trainings into its existing anti-hazing training program.”Editor’s Picks 1 Related Lynch and her group talked to more than 120 people, consisting of present and previous student-athletes, non-athlete students, coaches, athletic administrators and personnel, professors, university administrators and trustees. They examined files and information including athletic department policies.Northwestern fired football coach Pat Fitzgerald in July 2023 after 17 seasons amid a hazing scandal that caused suits throughout several sports with allegations including sexual abuse by colleagues as

well as racist remarks by coaches and race-based assaults.Fitzgerald was initially suspended following an investigation by attorney Maggie Hickey of law firm ArentFox Schiff. That probe did not find”adequate”proof that the training staff understood about continuous hazing however concluded there were”significant opportunities”to learn about it. Fitzgerald is suing the school for$130 million, saying his university wrongfully fired him.Northwestern employed Lynch in July 2023 to lead an investigation into the culture of its athletic department and its anti-hazing treatments.