Several individual defendants, including former athletic director and current ACC commissioner Jim Phillips and university president Michael Schill, have been dismissed from hazing lawsuits filed by former Northwestern athletes, according to reviewed court documents by ESPN.
Phillips and Schill were named as defendants in a group of lawsuits filed by the former athletes, as was former athletic director Derrick Gragg, who now serves as the school's vice president of athletic strategy; former university president Morton Schapiro; and the school's board of directors, among others.
The university and former football coach Pat Fitzgerald remain accused.
In August, Phillips, Schill, Schapiro, Gragg and the board were voluntarily dismissed from 15 cases brought by former football players under the John Doe designation. In September, Phillips, former strength and conditioning coach Jay Hooten, current strength and conditioning coach Alex Spanos and the board of directors were voluntarily dismissed from cases brought by John Does. A separate set of cases dismissed former university president Henry Bienen, former athletic director Mark Murphy and the board as individual defendants.
Additionally, a lawsuit filed by former Northwestern football player Ramon Diaz alleging racial abuse and other hazing incidents was voluntarily dismissed in June.
Fitzgerald, fired in July 2023, is suing the university for wrongful termination, seeking $130 million in damages. He has denied knowledge of alleged hazing activities within the program.
In April, a judge announced that the hazing cases and Fitzgerald's claim would be heard together. The trial date for Fitzgerald's lawsuit is set for April 2025.
The defendants' dismissals stem from cases brought by two Chicago-based firms, Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard and Romanucci & Blandin. Lawyers representing the individual defendants had filed motions to dismiss, based in part on there being no specific allegations against their clients.
A spokeswoman for Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard declined to comment on the reason for the defendants' dismissals. Romanucci & Blandin did not respond to ESPN after repeated requests for comment.
Another batch of lawsuits by former Northwestern football players, filed by the Chicago-based firm Levin & Perconti, mostly named only Northwestern as a defendant, although three cases also included Fitzgerald. Those cases are moving forward.
Northwestern did not comment on the individual defendants' dismissals.
Phillips did not comment, but said in a 2023 statement that “hazing is completely unacceptable” and that “any allegation that I ever condoned or tolerated inappropriate conduct against student-athletes is absolutely false. I will vigorously defend myself against any suggestion in Wrong Way”. “
Schill has acknowledged that hazing occurred at Northwestern, which commissioned former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to conduct a review of how the athletic department detects and reports potential hazing or other misconduct. Lynch and his researchers released a report in June recommending that Northwestern improve its hazing prevention training.
