Northwestern players decide not to attend Big Ten media days amid hazing scandal

Northwestern will not have any football players in attendance at Big Ten media days.

Bryce Gallagher, Rod Heard and Bryce Kirtz were scheduled to be the player representatives for Northwestern at the conference’s annual gathering this week in Indianapolis, but the program announced Tuesday that the three decided not to attend.

In a statement, Gallagher, Heard and Kirtz said they did not want their participation at media days “to be dominated” by questions about the program’s hazing scandal that led to the firing of longtime head coach Pat Fitzgerald. The decision was made after consulting with their parents, teammates and interim head coach David Braun. Braun is scheduled to speak to the media at 11:45 a.m. ET on Wednesday.

“This was very difficult since we were excited about the opportunity to participate in this great Big Ten tradition, and to talk about the game we love and the season ahead. But given the recent events involving the Northwestern football program, we did not want our participation to be dominated by the hazing issue and steal focus away from football and the upcoming season,” the statement reads.

“We are proud members of the NU football program and want our on-field performance and off-field conduct to always reflect the values of the university and our fans.”

In multiple lawsuits, several former Northwestern players have alleged widespread hazing and mistreatment took place in the football program under the watch of Fitzgerald, who was fired earlier this month ahead of his 18th season as head coach.

Fitzgerald was one of the best players in Northwestern history, then spent five seasons as an NU assistant before taking over as head coach in 2006. His firing came after a monthslong investigation that began after an anonymous complaint of alleged hazing in the program. The school publicly acknowledged that it was investigating the claim in January and on July 7 released a summary of the investigation’s findings.

At first, NU president Michael Schill announced a two-week suspension for Fitzgerald, as well as other measures the school planned to take to combat hazing in the athletic department. A day later, The Daily Northwestern published a story detailing the hazing accusations, which caused Schill to reconsider his sanctions for the coach. Two days later, Schill reversed course and fired Fitzgerald, who has denied having any knowledge of hazing in the program.

With Fitzgerald no longer with the program, Braun — hired in January by Fitzgerald to be NU’s defensive coordinator — has been elevated to interim head coach. He will represent the program at Big Ten media days in Indianapolis on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Northwestern said last week that it plans to launch two external investigations into the athletic department. One will examine how the athletic department implements accountability and “detect(s) threats to the welfare of student-athletes.” The other investigation will focus on the culture of the athletic department and “its relationship to the academic mission.”