Northwestern announced on Tuesday that former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch will lead an independent review of the athletic department in the wake of the hazing scandal that's upended the university. Results of Lynch's investigation will be made public.
Lynch will be charged with investigating the culture of Northwestern athletics, focusing on the "processes and accountability mechanisms" to discover and report misconduct. The review is the second of its kind into the athletic department after an initial investigation was released in July. Northwestern suspended football coach Pat Fitzgerald for two weeks after the investigation concluded, but ultimately the school was forced to fire its longtime football coach and former star player after independent reporting from The Daily Northwestern brought to light more details highlighting culture issues within the program.
Northwestern's initial independent investigation was not made public.
"The athletics department welcomes this review as a critical tool in identifying the additional steps Northwestern can take to eradicate hazing," Northwestern athletic director Derrick Gragg said in a statement. "By making the results of her review public, we hope our entire community will be better informed and guided as we all work to address this critical issue in college athletics."
Lynch served as attorney general from 2015-17 after a lengthy career in the U.S. attorney's office. She was hired as an independent counsel to review the culture within the Washington Commanders organization (then-Washington Football Team) in December 2020, a process that ultimately led to owner Dan Snyder selling his team. Lynch now practices civil rights law at the private law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.
Amid the hazing scandal fallout, several former Northwestern players have retained high-profile civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has tried many of the highest-profile civil rights cases in modern American history. At least five lawsuits have been filed by former players, including three involving named players.
"This is the opportunity to eradicate hazing and abuse in college athletic programs from coast to coast," Crump said in a statement. "That's exactly what we intend to do, as this will undoubtedly be the MeToo movement of college athletics."
Since the findings of the initial review were released, Northwestern has added an independent monitor to the football locker room and mandated anti-hazing training for all athletic teams. Additionally, Northwestern has created further avenues to report hazing or other misconduct.
"Hazing has absolutely no place at Northwestern. Period," Northwestern president Michael Schill said in a statement. "I am determined that with the help of Attorney General Lynch, we will become a leader in combating the practice of hazing in intercollegiate athletics and a model for other universities. We will provide all of our students with the resources and support they need and do whatever is necessary to protect their safety and ensure that our athletics program remains one we can all be proud of."
