Thankful that everyone who participated in this heinous “scandal” have been held accountable.
Fitz fired anniversary
- Thread starter Curdog7
- Start date
David Braun hired anniversary.
GO CATS!
GO CATS!
You put vindicated in quotes so you don’t believe. He clearly has been.
Paradoxically, I think the Loyola High School hiring said more about Fitz's reputation than the Michigan State hiring.
East Lansing could care less -- as long as nothing is going to come out that is a complete embarrassment, they mostly just want to win more games. The end of the lawsuit gave them cover, but this is college sports -- far worse humans have gotten hired by major programs after far worse transgressions (Calipari, Petrino, Meyer, etc.). As Steve Keim (former Arizona Cardinals GM) once said about NFL hiring: "If Hannibal Lecter ran a 4.3, we'd probably diagnose it as an eating disorder."
Loyola High being willing to bring him on during the pendency of the legal saga, by contrast, was a demonstration that coaching circles took Fitz at his word that he didn't know what was happening in his program, and that lots of people had lots of good experiences with Fitz as a mentor, coach, motivator, teacher, etc. and were ready to vouch for his personal character. They wouldn't have put him around high schoolers in the middle of a hazing scandal if not for that.
Which is pretty consistent with what the story's been all along: Fitz has never been the monster his detractors want him to be just because he had a blind spot in administering his program here. (Or as he put it in his own victory lap: "Through discovery, I learned that some hazing did occur in the football program at Northwestern. I am extremely disappointed that members of the team engaged in this behavior".) But he doesn't get a pass for the blind spot either just because Schill was too incompetent to resolve things properly, both in terms of the contractual process for removing him as coach and in terms of consequences for others as well.
(And I'm gonna leave it there, because c'mon man, it's been three years, no one's opinion is changing no matter how much we relitigate all of it, and Fitz is wearing green and white and took off with a hell of a payout due to Schill so we don't owe the man a thing at this point...)
Whatever man. There were people in this site comparing what happened under Fitz to the Penn st scandal. My whole thing has been if it was bad enough to can Fitz, then the people actually doing the hazing and the asst coaches who knew or should have known should also be held accountable. The fact that no one was tells me all I need to know. This was a nothing burger.
I'll say one thing...
This thread is the first time in my life I've ever heard it referred as "Loyola High" or "Loyola High School" lol.
LA Class of 80.
This thread is the first time in my life I've ever heard it referred as "Loyola High" or "Loyola High School" lol.
LA Class of 80.
And I’ve said before, I agree it’s not Penn State, I agree Fitz shouldn’t have been on an island, I agree Schill sucks…
The whatever man dismissiveness is felt mutually beyond that.
It couldn't have been a bigger nothing burger and I'd wager that if this all happened in the year 2026 instead of 2023, I don't think he even gets the 2 week slap on the wrist or w/e it was
Richardson, Schill and the fake news Daily NU should have all been the ones to face repercussions. Not Fitz
Schill could not have screwed this up any more. Just a remarkable display of incompetence.
If Schill had issued a serious suspension that included some games, I think this would have all blown over, but he didn't, ,and when Fitz found out about the investigation that [previous fall, he didn't seem to have paid it the attention he should have. Unfortunately, the result was a disaster that threatened to literally destroy the football program. David Braun stepped up to save it with a miraculous 8-5 season and we are where we are.
Not just Braun. As good of a job he did keeping the team focused and together, he didn’t throw a pass, open a hole with a mean block, or intercept a pass. The players clearly felt Fitz got jobbed ( they would know better than anyone) and responded with the “us against the world” mentality that paid dividends.
Fire Ggarg. Fire Schill.
Our new AD seems very competent with an excellent background/history of heading successful athletic departments. So far I like what he has done to stabilize our athletics program (like funding and going after top level coaches). Let’s trust he will continue to do the things necessary to keep the program competitive. The fall program and opening of the new stadium will be confirmation we are still heading in the right direction.
Fitz got a huge settlement because of his egregious and ridiculous 10 year contract. Thanks Jim Phillips!
Fitz ignored the hazing, just like Walker. I’m working on a documentary- I learned a lot about the case, and the lawyers said there is no reason why not. And I honestly think such a documentary could help people. This type of sexualized hazing is institutionalized at some high schools - typically private, elite academies where the prestige buys silence.
As you all know: NU was very reasonable, kind, and supportive to us players who came forward. There were a LOT… and it wasn’t just football, although the majority of the hazing was done due to Fitz’s “frat boy” culture. If you started or played well, then the hazing stopped. This was true in 2002: once I won scout team player of the week as a PWO, it was clear I would get a scholarship if I stayed on the team.
I quit playing football due to the hazing and concussions (glad I did so… my grades skyrocketed sophomore year; I had to send my transcript as part of the evidence I shared with the lawyers, which ended up being important. I was the oldest witness to speak out - Fitz was the linebackers coach, and I love the guy personally… but, wow, he was checked out for years aside from the 2020 COVID season (when there was nothing else to do).
Folks: Fitz deserved to get fired. Full stop.
Maybe I can get his perspective on tape someday after MSU fires him for going 3-9 in a couple of years.
Given who one of my partners is on the documentary… a certain teammate of Fitz’s who confirmed to me that it DID not happen, and appears to have been partially inspired by the offensive linemen’s love of “Shawshank Redemption”… which my much older fraternity brother Clancy Brown starred in… this could get interesting.
I have been busy. All good stuff!
His contract allowed him an opportunity to implement corrective actions, full stop. That NU was completely in the wrong with the way they fired him is why they had to issue that statement as part of the settlement to completely absolve Fitz of all guilt.
If they had just announced that they were firing him for having 3 losing seasons in 4 years, none of this fallout would have happened.
You literally have no clue what you’re talking about. You are swimming out of your depth.
Email me if you want some Truth.
otherwise you will pay the price of admission like everyone else
Exactly! If they had said he was fired because the football team had 3 successive awful seasons (I’m not including the convoluted Covid season), most people would have been fine with it (including me). They could have worked out a buyout number that would have been much less than what the school ended up paying him. And his reputation would have remained intact. Win/win.
Amazing how smart people can make such incredibly stupid decisions.
I eagerly await this documentary especially after all the Fitz groupies whitewashed what occurredFitz got a huge settlement because of his egregious and ridiculous 10 year contract. Thanks Jim Phillips!
Fitz ignored the hazing, just like Walker. I’m working on a documentary- I learned a lot about the case, and the lawyers said there is no reason why not. And I honestly think such a documentary could help people. This type of sexualized hazing is institutionalized at some high schools - typically private, elite academies where the prestige buys silence.
As you all know: NU was very reasonable, kind, and supportive to us players who came forward. There were a LOT… and it wasn’t just football, although the majority of the hazing was done due to Fitz’s “frat boy” culture. If you started or played well, then the hazing stopped. This was true in 2002: once I won scout team player of the week as a PWO, it was clear I would get a scholarship if I stayed on the team.
I quit playing football due to the hazing and concussions (glad I did so… my grades skyrocketed sophomore year; I had to send my transcript as part of the evidence I shared with the lawyers, which ended up being important. I was the oldest witness to speak out - Fitz was the linebackers coach, and I love the guy personally… but, wow, he was checked out for years aside from the 2020 COVID season (when there was nothing else to do).
Folks: Fitz deserved to get fired. Full stop.
Maybe I can get his perspective on tape someday after MSU fires him for going 3-9 in a couple of years.
Given who one of my partners is on the documentary… a certain teammate of Fitz’s who confirmed to me that it DID not happen, and appears to have been partially inspired by the offensive linemen’s love of “Shawshank Redemption”… which my much older fraternity brother Clancy Brown starred in… this could get interesting.
I have been busy. All good stuff!
)
What an intelligent and interesting post, thanks for sharing PPD. My last dump looked happier
Just responding to you free board idiots that have nothing better to do than commiserate about Fitz. That is just stimulating stuff CMT. How about you start another poll about it?What an intelligent and interesting post, thanks for sharing PPD. My last dump looked happier
I am just happy the vast majority of the engaged posters that actually have some interesting and varied topics came over to the Rock. It’s unfortunate the few remaining good posters here are subjected to silly rehashed ( about a million times) garbage about “the scandal” that never really was a scandal. I should just know better and stay off this ****** free board until the game day threads resurface where true ignorance is in full display. You guys would fit right in at Inside NU.
It's not the people who think the scandal was indeed a scandal who started the thread, but the people so confident in Fitz's vindication they feel the need to try to reinforce it.
iNU's message board has its flaws, namely a couple of ideologues who don't really argue in good faith and crowd out reasonable discussion in the process, but I can't say I haven't seen equal amount of ridiculousness here, too. The common thread I see is less the quality of posters but the outright disdain NU folk seem to have for those that disagree with them. Something about the eliteness of our degrees that seems to make too many of us overconfident that anyone seeing things differently must be an idiot.
It's a shame, really. The commonality is supposed to be all cheering for the same team, but too much to ask of an internet message board for people to pull the same direction accordingly I guess.
x 10
Yeah, I started this thread on the 3 year anniversary of fitz’s firing to remind the “idiots” that this “scandal” was a gigantic fraud that cost the school a fortune and impugned the reputation of someone I admire. Sue me.
And you're welcome to your opinion there, champ, but then I don't want to hear from the rest of the peanut gallery that those who don't genuflect in the direction of East Lansing are the ones keeping the dead end conversation going.
How about we respect both the 1st and 4th amendments, have an adult discussion, and wonder what if Fitz had been put on the Witness Stand like We All Wanted.
Do you believe there was no hazing going on for years. Even your idol admitted that he missed that year after year
I really don't understand why we're revisiting this issue. Fitz was wrongfully terminated and, as a result, was paid in excess of 100 million dollars. Those are the facts.
Because apparently it's now an anniversary we need to commemorate?