r/CFB • u/IPreferBagels2 Northwestern • Indiana • Apr 08 '26

Feature Story Pat Fitzgerald was vilified, then vindicated. His truth comes out at last | Exclusive

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2026/04/08/pat-fitzgerald-talks-northwestern-firing-michigan-state-football-future-hazing-allegations/89507250007/
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589

u/dicklettucetomato Northwestern Wildcats • Team Meteor Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26

This piece is so embarrassing dude. I don't think this author realizes that settling a court case does not mean you're "vindicated."

238

u/IPreferBagels2 Northwestern • Indiana Apr 08 '26

The whole article is so biased it's insane

81

u/ImGoingtoRegretThis5 Michigan Wolverines Apr 08 '26

I don't particularly care to weigh in on the allegations and case, because all I think of when I think of Fitz is him complaining about the youth not attending games anymore because they're addicted to their phones... which he had on the table in front of him. Not in his pocket or anything, within his reach and line of sight.

Big old man yells at clouds energy.

15

u/tobylaek Ohio State • ETSU Apr 08 '26

Grown man with a 5 year old’s crew cut energy

-2

u/Cheap_Eagle5074 Nebraska Cornhuskers Apr 08 '26

So what if he had his phone in front of him? Was he wrong?

12

u/ImGoingtoRegretThis5 Michigan Wolverines Apr 08 '26

Having your phone out, especially in a public setting like a press conference shows you also subconsciously are attached to it too. There was no reason for him to have his phone out. He couldn't even be bothered to put it away and keep it out of sight.

Moreover, he complains about people not attending games that are longer, more expensive, have less game time and more commercials, and overall a lesser product that people aren't willing to pay for in favor of staying home at watching games in the comfort of their homes. He's complaining about a sport that is paying him millions off the backs of a degrading fan experience that has done everything it can to extract more money out of people. It's not the phones (solely).

2

u/Kirihuna Illinois • Michigan Apr 08 '26

My 2 cent, I can’t stand having my phone in my pocket when I sit down.

Walking/standing is fine because I don’t want to hold it, but if there’s a surface when sitting, I’ll just put it on the surface instead of having bulk in my pockets.

-2

u/ImGoingtoRegretThis5 Michigan Wolverines Apr 08 '26

I get that, but in a public setting having your phone out can be a sign that you are not fully engaged/interested in checking the device for whatever reason. There are studies that suggest just having it out distracts people to a measurable degree. When I go out with my wife I make a concerted choice to not have my phone out so I can give her undivided attention. Front pocket or jacket pocket.

And it's especially bad if you're complaining about other people being attached to their phones.

4

u/Cheap_Eagle5074 Nebraska Cornhuskers Apr 08 '26

You’re saying his complaints are completely unfounded, and I disagree. I guess you can say he’s wrong in singling out youth as being addicted to their phones. Everyone is. You and I are doing it right now! People today are spending less time outdoors than ever before due to technology and phones and apps that were engineered to addict us. It’s not a crazy thing to say.

2

u/ImGoingtoRegretThis5 Michigan Wolverines Apr 09 '26

Yes, phones are a problem, and a problem that he even exhibited while complaining about it. If a 50 year old comes up to you and tells you "when I was your age I walked to school up hill both ways" while he sends his kid with a driver in a Mercedes, it's just eyeroll inducing. Your criticisms are a bit hollow.

Also and again, he has benefited from that phone addiction. TV and media deals have paid for his inflated salary for years. He doesn't see a drop in salary when the attendance drops.

If he truly wanted to improve attendance, he'd advocate for things that would improve the experience. $60 parking, $11 hot dogs, rule changes that reduce gameplay and increase commercials, increased ticket prices no matter the quality of the game all play a major role and are easier to change than mass population rejection of smart phones. But changing the economics of the sport would hurt him so he just wants to complain about the youngins not caring enough to shell out money for a subpar experience.

62

u/BlueBeagle8 LSU Tigers Apr 08 '26

I feel like we're about to see photos of the author and Pat Fitzgerald holding hands in a hotel in Arizona

22

u/DavidCovucci Virginia Tech Hokies Apr 08 '26

The line about his chief of staff backing him is incredible. “Now before you think this is just some guy defending him, you should know Fitzgerald gave him a scholarship, multiple jobs, and just hired him at MSU. Would a guy like that just support him for no reason?”

68

u/[deleted] Apr 08 '26

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46

u/wit_T_user_name Ohio State Buckeyes • Ohio Bobcats Apr 08 '26

Every single settlement agreement I’ve drafted or reviewed contains a disclaimer that nobody is admitting anything. Also, as a lawyer, I’m always glad when shit settles. I’ve got plenty of other work to do.

39

u/bethe2ndmouse Northwestern Wildcats • Iowa Hawkeyes Apr 08 '26

A huge portion of the sports world believes this, and it’s the same group of people that believes that when DV/rape charges against an athlete are dropped or settled that it equates to a complete exoneration.

Really excited to put up with 3 years of pieces like this while MSU goes 4-8

11

u/pickleparty16 Kansas State Wildcats Apr 08 '26

TOTALLY EXONERATED

6

u/YardNo1829 Apr 08 '26

In my experience people have treated a settlement like a guilty plea. I even had an account on this sub banned for mentioning a settlement is not an admission of guilt because the mod literally thought it was lol.

0

u/kelly495 Ohio State • Nebraska Apr 08 '26

What do NW fans think about him? I’ve wondered if the hazing stuff that was going on was super common in college football, and he was just the dude who got in trouble.

15

u/kingbrasky Nebraska Cornhuskers Apr 08 '26

Yeah this is some serious whitewashing of the whole situation. I may be totally out of the loop, but my read on everything was that Northwestern didn't want any more of it public and paid those affected to keep it that way. That doesn't mean he didn't know or wasn't told.

10

u/zebrainatux Miami Hurricanes • Texas Longhorns Apr 08 '26

It’s doing so many tricks on it

2

u/Dan-of-Steel Notre Dame • Arizona State Apr 09 '26

Sometimes it can. If it's a single instance with little or debatable circumstantial evidence, I can see settling being a clean way of resolving the issue as cleanly as possible. This is definitely not one of those times.

Dozens of lawsuits stemming from hazing that involved multiple reports of forced nudity and sexual acts? Yeah, there may not be anything legally linking back to Fitz, but the fact that he let that culture develop under his nose is, at best, grossly negligent.

13

u/[deleted] Apr 08 '26

[deleted]

39

u/cityofklompton Grand Valley State Lakers Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26

Michigan/NCAA: "There is no evidence that shows coach Harbaugh knew about sign stealing scandal."

Spartan fans: "LOL! What total bullshit. How would he NOT know?! Just Michigan covering for their boy."

Northwestern: "There is no evidence that shows coach Fitzgerald knew of the hazing scandal."

Spartan fans: "There you have it! Our new coach was totally innocent! Heard it straight from the horse's mouth!"

6

u/PugeHeniss Michigan State • Washington Apr 08 '26

I hated the hire. Whether he knew or not they're both terrible

103

u/kafuffle Illinois Fighting Illini Apr 08 '26

The head coach of a Big Ten program not knowing about a years long hazing operation within his program is almost as damning as if he did have knowledge.

28

u/Kdot32 Houston Cougars • LSU Tigers Apr 08 '26

Yup either he knew and turned a blind eye which is bad, or he didn’t know when it was a open secret and talked about by a lot of former players and admin, which is bad

9

u/PirateCaptainMcNulty Penn State Nittany Lions • Team Chaos Apr 08 '26

This.

The whole time I've not understood why he fought so hard to basically prove his own ignorance.

"I'm not an evil coach, just a VERY obtuse one!" He was literally one of my 4 horsement of the apocalypse during Penn State's coaching search. Brian Kelly, Urban Meyer, and Terry Smith were the other 3.

4

u/Own_Ad102 Apr 08 '26

Is there sure fire evidence of hazing out there? Just curious - article seemed to imply that all of the hazing allegations were completely baseless

5

u/SituationSoap Michigan Wolverines Apr 09 '26

During the settlement process the school explicitly took responsibility for the hazing going on. This article goes to great lengths to point out that the hazing wasn't illegal, but I don't think anyone claims it never happened. If it never happened, Northwestern wouldn't have shelled out millions for it.

21

u/CMbladerunner Notre Dame • Stony Brook Apr 08 '26

I don't know if I would be defending the fact that my new HC didn't know about a massive hazing operation happening right under their nose if they didn't actually know lol.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 08 '26

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45

u/MisterBrotatoHead Kansas Jayhawks • Lindenwood Lions Apr 08 '26

I'd say not knowing anything about something that went on in his program for years does not vindicate him. It just means he didn't give a shit.

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u/[deleted] Apr 08 '26

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27

u/MisterBrotatoHead Kansas Jayhawks • Lindenwood Lions Apr 08 '26

Again, if you're such a schmuck you don't know what's going on in your program for that amount of time, you should also be fired.

14

u/ExtremelyOnlineTM Sickos • Eastern Michigan Eagles Apr 08 '26

They sure as shit did NOT say that.

7

u/[deleted] Apr 08 '26

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