More Northwestern Athletes Call Out Hazing With Legal Action

Two Northwestern athletes stepped up the legal fight against their school for serious hazing methods, according to new lawsuits filed on Monday.

The new suits land atop a pile of hazing allegations that Northwestern has received since The Daily Northwestern's takedown of Wildcats men's football coach Pat Fitzgerald after overseeing hazing practices that included sexual misconduct.

One of the athletes is a female volleyball player claiming the team allowed severe punishment after she allegedly broke team guidelines by getting COVID in 2021.

The unnamed volleyball player claims Wildcats women's volleyball coach Shane Davis made the girl run "suicides" on the court until the drills resulted in physical injury. Filed in Illinois on Monday, the lawsuit — as reported by ESPN — accuses Davis of enabling "a culture of racism, bullying, harassment, hazing and retaliation."

The 'severe' hazing led to her requiring medical attention and later informing Northwestern's athletic department without any resolution.

READ: FORMER NORTHWESTERN PLAYER CLAIMS NAKED HAZING WAS SIMPLY ‘WEIRDO FAT GUYS’ PARTICIPATING IN ‘WEIRDO FAT GUY SH*T’'

Meanwhile, former Northwestern quarterback Lloyd Yates again denounced Pat Fitzgerald's football program for overseeing sexual misconduct and hazing in recent years. Yates played for the Wildcats from 2015 to 2017.

Yates spoke at a news conference in Chicago on Monday. His legal team, led by high-profile attorney Ben Crump, filed a 52-page complaint against Northwestern, accusing the program of permitting sexual misconduct and racially-charged comments.

"It's a real big deal when these young people have the courage to take a stand and refuse to be victims anymore, refuse to have their voices silenced," Crump said on Monday.

"I want justice for all the victims of this horrific hazing," Yates said. "I want closure for myself and hundreds of other Northwestern football players who suffered in silence. Too often, many of us have blamed ourselves for things that were beyond our control. Lastly, I want protection for future players."

The situation in Evanston continues to unfold.

Several Northwestern athletes have lawyered up to fight Northwestern's alleged problem of ignoring past hazing incidents.

Attorney Parker Stinar, who's handling several lawsuits against Northwestern's alleged hazing issue (including the female volleyball player), says the legal saga highlights a more significant issue long ignored by the university.

Stinar told the Associated Press, “It wasn’t just confined to one bad actor. It wasn’t just confined to one team, like the football team. It also included a culture that was accepted and tolerated and encouraged on the baseball team and other sports teams, and also with men and women’s sports. So, it’s a tainted athletic department.”