Northwestern Football is facing accusations of fostering a racist environment amid the firing of head coach Pat Fitzgerald.
According to The Daily Northwestern, three former players alleged the program has a “culture of enabling racism" and detailed several racist incidents involving other teammates and staffers.
One player who was on the team through the 2009 season said Fitzgerald instructed fellow Black teammates and coaches to shorten their hairstyles, including cutting their dreadlocks, to conform to the "Wildcat Way." White teammates with longer hairstyles weren't asked to change their hair, according to the player.
“Your Blackness was not allowed to shine through, whether it was how you carried yourself all your way down to your hair,” one player said.
Another player detailed how he felt the team was segregated by race. More Black players tended to be on defense, while it was difficult to break into the offensive side as a person of color, according to a player.
“There was a certain culture of enabling racism and other microaggressions that I had to experience and that other offensive linemen that were people of color had to experience,” a player said. “A lot of people ended up transferring, particularly off the offensive side of the ball, because it was a very racially segregated team."
In another instance, one person said he heard a teammate ask a Black player to show him "how monkeys act."
University spokesperson Jon Yates called the alleged racist behavior "unacceptable."
“The alleged ‘racist commentary and behavior toward non-white players’ by Coach Fitzgerald and members of his staff would be entirely unacceptable and inconsistent with our culture and values, if true,” Yates said in a statement. “As we do with any allegation, we will immediately address the accusations and any findings will be considered.
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