The Northwestern saga continues as three former baseball staffers filed a lawsuit against the school on Monday, according to ESPN. The ex-staffers claim they were retaliated against after they reported NCAA violations allegedly committed by former head baseball coach Jim Foster.
Pitching coach Jon Strauss, hitting coach/recruiting coordinator Dustin Napoleon and director of baseball operations Chris Beacom filed the lawsuit against Northwestern, Foster, athletics director Derrick Gragg and two other athletics administrators.
The three plaintiffs claim they were bullied by Foster, who asked them to violate NCAA rules and denied medical care to some student-athletes. Allegedly, they began complaining about Foster's behavior to university administrators last October, and then filed a formal complaint to human resources on Nov. 30, 2022.
However, the plaintiffs claim they were retaliated against because they were demoted and eventually let go from the program after they raised their concerns. Beacom said he, along with Strauss and Napoleon, want to see the university take the safety of the student-athletes and staff seriously by not ignoring pressing issues.
"We reported coach Foster's conduct to Northwestern, believing they would do the right thing," Beacom said in a statement, per WGN9. "Northwestern did not do the right thing.
"Instead, they swept our reports under the rug, putting their staff, student-athletes, and reputation at risk. Northwestern stood by coach Foster and got rid of the coaches that blew the whistle on him, and only when the media found out about coach Foster's abuse, did Northwestern choose to do something. I'm here today because I want real change at Northwestern."
Following the press conference, the school released their own statement saying the lawsuit is "without merit and the University intends to contest it vigorously."
"When the athletic director and the University were first made aware of complaints about Coach Foster, the University immediately initiated a human resources investigation," Northwestern spokesman Jon Yates said in an email, per CBS News Chicago. "The assistant coaches and director of operations received full support from the University, they were paid for their full contracts and, at their request, were allowed to support other areas of our athletic department as needed.
"Coach Foster has been relieved of his duties. In this instance and others, the athletic director and department acted promptly and handled the complaints in accordance with established University policy and protocols."
Northwestern fired Foster last month following allegations of "bullying and abusive behavior." He was only with the program for one season, in which he led the Wildcats to a 10-40 record. At least 14 players have since entered the transfer portal since May.
The university has seen issues across multiple sports. Just three days before Foster was dismissed, the school fired football coach Pat Fitzgerald over allegations of hazing. And in late July, a former Northwestern volleyball player filed a lawsuit anonymously claiming she was physically harmed during a hazing incident in 2021.
