Northwestern Football Players To Skip Big Ten Media Days

EVANSTON, IL — In a week that a former Northwestern University quarterback became the first plaintiff to put his name on a lawsuit against the school alleging hazing and sexual assault, three current members of the Wildcats football team said they will skip the Big Ten’s annual media days this week in Indianapolis.

In a statement released by the football program on Tuesday, Northwestern players Bryce Gallagher, Rod Heard II, and Bryce Kirtz announced they will not attend the annual gathering of media that previews the upcoming Big Ten football season.

The meetings, which will be held on Wednesday and Thursday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, typically include the head coach and up to three players from each Big Ten team. However, in the face of a hazing scandal that cost long-time Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald his job and has led to four lawsuits being filed by former players, the three Northwestern players announced they will not participate.

“This was very difficult since we were excited to participate in this great Big Ten tradition and to talk about the game we love and the season ahead,” the three players wrote in a joint statement. “But given the recent events involving the Northwestern football program, we did not want our participation to be dominated by the hazing issue and steal the focus away from football and the upcoming season.”

Interim coach David Braun, who was hired as Northwestern’s defensive coordinator in January, will represent the program in Indianapolis. In a statement, Braun said that the players' decision not to participate was entirely theirs and they approached it with a great deal of maturity and thoughtfulness."

He added: I'm fully supportive of both their reasoning and the decision itself and I look forward to attending the event."

Northwestern athletic director Derrick Gragg is also expected to speak in what would be his first public comments since the hazing scandal broke. In an interview with The Daily Northwestern published on Monday, university President Michael Schill said that he had not placed a gag order on Gragg, who — according to the student newspaper — is not in jeopardy of losing his job.

"I can’t state why some people are putting out statements, it may be that (Gragg) is also trying to ascertain more facts. I think this week, you’re going to hear quite a bit from him because we have (Big Ten) media days coming up later in the week," Schill told the Daily Northwestern. "As you know, we are faced with pending litigation, and we need to balance the long-term interests of the University in that litigation with just getting on a podium and talking."

Gragg did not immediately respond to an email from Patch seeking comment on Tuesday.

Gragg, along with Schill, former athletic director Jim Phillips and the school’s Board of Trustees, are all named as defendants in the lawsuits that have been filed. The lawsuit filed Monday by former Northwestern quarterback Lloyd Yates names the university as the lone defendant because, his attorneys said, hazing has become a “ritualized institutional” issue at the school.

The players now hope to turn their attention to the upcoming season, which begins against Rutgers and which comes a year after the Wildcats finished 1-11.

“We are proud members of the NU football program and want our on-field performance and off-field conduct to always reflect the values of our university and our fans."

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