Three Northwestern University football players have alleged the program has a “culture of enabling racism,” according to a Monday report from The Daily Northwestern.
The players, all of whom reportedly asked to be anonymous, alleged other team members and coaching staff made racially-charged comments and commands to racial minorities on the team, according to The Daily Northwestern. They alleged the team had a set of cultural expectations referred to as the “Wildcat Way.” If players did not conform to the alleged cultural expectations, which they said were racially biased, their scholarship status was threatened, the outlet reported.
Ramon Diaz Jr., a Latino player for Northwestern from 2005-2008, said he felt marginalized on the team due to his racial status.
“I didn’t feel like I could be anything other than white,” Diaz told The Daily Northwestern. “We never felt like we could be ourselves. We had to fit in by being white or acting white or laughing at our own people.” (RELATED: Family Of LSU Fraternity Pledge Awarded $6.1 Million After Hazing-Related Death)
BREAKING: Three former players said Northwestern football program had a “culture of enabling racism.”https://t.co/nWPgqCxA6g
— The Daily Northwestern (@thedailynu) July 10, 2023
A black player alleged head football coach Pat Fitzgerald requested black athletes to cut off their dreadlocks and longer hairstyles, according to the outlet. He said players were expected to physically reflect “good, clean American fun,” The Daily Northwestern reported.
“Those are two phrases you would hear a lot around the program that referred to the sentiment of ‘fall in line.’ … If you were not in line with the ‘Wildcat Way,’ Coach Fitz or any one of the coaches will be quick to say like, ‘yeah, check your scholarship,’” the player continued, according to the outlet.
Another black player also alleged the program had a racism problem, The Daily Northwestern reported. “The racist stuff … the stuff that refers to how Black players are treated, in my mind, that was a form of hazing.”
“There was a certain culture of enabling racism and other microaggressions that I had to experience and that other offensive linemen that were people of color had to experience,” another player added, according to the outlet.
Diaz told the outlet the alleged racist treatment caused him to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and that he’s seeing a professional for help.
“The fact that I’m still going to a therapist and talking about these things after more than 10 years is indicative of the mental health state I was left in,” Diaz said, according to The Daily Northwestern. “I didn’t even watch a football game again for almost five years after I left Northwestern. It was that negative of an experience for me that I didn’t want anything to do with the sport.”
Diaz alleged that he faced a torrent of racial abuse including questions about why he played football instead of soccer and being forced to shave “Cinco de Mayo” into his head, according to the outlet.
“The alleged ‘racist commentary and behavior toward non-white players’ by Coach Fitzgerald and members of his staff would be entirely unacceptable and inconsistent with our culture and values, if true,” Northwestern University spokesman Jon Yates wrote in an email to the outlet. “As we do with any allegation, we will immediately address the accusations and any findings will be considered.”
The first anonymous black player said he felt he had to suppress his racial identity while on the team, The Daily Northwestern reported.
“Your Blackness was not allowed to shine through, whether it was how you carried yourself all your way down to your hair,” the player said, according to the outlet.
Northwestern’s football team has faced an onslaught of scrutiny amid mounting reports about an allegedly toxic team culture. The university announced Friday that Fitzgerald would be suspended for two weeks after concluding its investigation into the team’s culture and alleged hazing. The Daily Northwestern published another piece Saturday in which multiple anonymous players brought forth allegations about a widespread team culture of hazing, purportedly including coerced sexual acts.
The football program released a statement the same day, allegedly signed by “the ENTIRE Northwestern Football Team,” dismissing the hazing allegations as “exaggerated and twisted.”
The letter asserted that “throughout his tenure, Coach Fitzgerald has consistently prioritized the well-being and development of his players, and we stand behind him in his unwavering commitment to our team” and that he “was not involved in any of the alleged incidents in any way, shape, or form.” Fitzgerald’s agent allegedly declined The Daily Northwestern’s request for comment.