Northwestern players supporting Fitzgerald with custom shirts
Not surprising, but another bad look for the school.
https://www.thebiglead.com/posts/northwestern-football-pat-fitzgerald-shirts-01h7dn03yvsh
Northwestern Football Still Standing Behind Disgraced Ex-Coach Pat Fitzgerald With Customized Shirts
Pat Fitzgerald was fired a month ago amid widespread hazing and sexual abuse allegations after nearly two decades as head coach of Northwestern's football program. An investigation by the university originally resulted in a two week suspension, but a series of stories by The Daily Northwestern full of details about the incidents finally convinced the school to fire Fitzgerald.
Anyway, after not addressing the media at Big Ten media day, the team is back at practice this week and some coaches and staff members are wearing shirts that feature Fitzgerald's No. 51 along with the slogan, "Cats Against the World."
No one at that university gets it. For an "elite" academic institution, they sure are stupid
Pat Fitzgerald is, like all of us, a complex individual. He was in charge when some awful shit took place. If he didn’t know he damn well should have. And losing his job was entirely appropriate. And civil lawsuits are appropriate as well.
But I’m sure there are many players, present and past, who will attest to acts kindness, support and mentorship. And that is part of the Pat Fitzgerald legacy as well.
100%.
Command responsibility is a term most often used in relation to war crimes, but it applies here too. If you are in charge of a large operation and terrible acts are committed you are responsible even if you are unaware that they occurred.
Being “the man” comes with great responsibility.
Upvoted both of you. Im sure he did a ton of good. Truman saved a million plus US citizens. He also dropped a couple bombs killing 200k plus innocent civilians in the process. Did he do good? Did he do bad? Does it depend on who you ask?
And there is no fucking reasonable human being in the world that should think members of the football staff and/or team should be wearing shirts defending Pat Fitzgerald right now like he's a fucking martyr.
“Cats against the world” - the students aren’t under attack from “the world”. Not sure why the feel they are and have to make a shirt…
The story said coaches and staff. There was no mention of players wearing them.
If he didn’t know
0:22 in the video.
That's not entirely fair. The students at the Daily Northwestern definitely got it.
Agreed now let's all go back to Schembechler Hall and not be hypocrits about it.........
I'm glad someone said it, there are some cringeworthy posts in this thread
its not you against the world dummies. its you against each other. the ones who went through whatever they went through... but, way to not learn from the paterno disaster... dig in. "Ivy"-like my ass.
BTW, you can rally to each other but you guys are going to get trucked all year long.
Cats Against the World
I'm going to have to take the World in that bet.
User pic doesn't check
"THE WORLD!!!"
Now that was an epic standup.
They're gonna die.
lol. that is understandable but embarrassing nevertheless.
August 10th, 2023 at 12:18 AM ^
Please explain
Why is common sense so... rare and uncommon?
That happens wherever cultures embrace denial as a socially acceptable coping mechanism.
I fully expect that a bunch of guys wearing these shirts will turn out to being involved at various times with the hazing that went on. Just feels way too on-point for this situation.
WTF. A clear demonstration that intelligence* does not equal wisdom.
*This is a reference to the myth that NW football players are necessarily more academically gifted than those of other teams. BUT it is also a reference to D&D.
I'm just assuming every player who didn't want to wear the shirts risked being put through The Carwash
Or even already received a free Deluxe job with a prewash and extra rinse.
On the back: a giant picture of Shrek.
a couple things:
- the stories i've seen on this do not seem to reference them being worn by players, only "coaches and staff." i have no idea if the turd in the photo is a player or staff, and i'm not going to waste any of my precious remaining time on this earth trying to figure it out. if it's players, fine, but i haven't seen that anywhere in my passing attention.
- it's worth noting that the decision to not attend B1G media days was apparently made by the players themselves, not what i'd laughingly call the northwestern "leadership."
i'm happy to be educated otherwise on both these points.
You're right. The guy in picture looked like a player but the story didn't reference any players. What a bunch of dipshit coaches.
Mods please edit the title.
August 9th, 2023 at 11:00 PM ^
You just made Shrek's list, pal! Time for a carwash...
August 10th, 2023 at 9:19 AM ^
my apologies, by the way - that wasn't intended to be a 'do better'-type post on my part...more of a commentary on the assholery of the northwestern staff toward their own players. sorry that wasn't clearer.
Eh. The kids — and they are still kids — that Fitz recruited and who joined the program specifically because of him, and who resent the fact that he was terminated, express their support for him. Hardly surprising, and frankly, at least as expressed in this particular way, not particularly offensive.
But of course there's no example in the country of adults who feel their chosen leader was unfairly treated despite overwhelming evidence of his incompetence continuing to rally behind him in support. That would never happen.
Come on, dude. No politics. -1
You really should have picked a ref calling a different penalty. Illegal hands to the anything is too spot-on.
Example(s) come in multiple colors.
SQ managed to post without bringing up communism or abortion apropos of nothing?!?! Feels like progress
I am not the one who brought up politics.
Not *this* time. Hence the compliment
Don't tempt Sal. He will find an excuse to post about the Spanish Blood Laws in this thread. Just you watch.
No doubt
But how will they haze these players if they are wearing clothes!?
What a bunch of fucking dorks.
I hope every opponent this year just blows them the fuck out. Unbelievable.
If they didn't play Rutgers, I could see them going winless in B1G play. I suppose it's still possible. Go Rutgers?
rutgers is going to hamblast them. book it.
When it comes to Rutgers, I always root for "hilarity ensues". Whatever that takes.
If it means that Rutgers hosts a camp and immediately gets all their top recruits poached by OSU, I'm for it.
If it means that Rutgers has to invent the, by FAR, most hilarious marketing tag ever ("Stripe the Birthplace"), then I'm for it.
If it means that Rutgers scores a TD which then gets taken off the board en route to their 4th shutout of the year, I'm for it.
If it means that Rutgers has to be up by 4 scores in order for a clearly-not-ready Joe Milton to get benched in favor of a gunslinging Cade McNamara, I'm for it.
If it means that Rutgers beats Indiana for two years in a row, by a combined 42 points, I'm for it.
And if it means that Rutgers destroys Northwestern this year, I'm for it.
I'm totally on board with this. I'd just add:
Rutgers inviting 200-plus recruits to watch them lose 78-0 to Michigan in 2017.
They were busy entertaining the recruits to actually practice that week. I think :) The rains didn't help either.
TBH that's probably happening regardless. They are gonna be real bad.
August 10th, 2023 at 12:22 AM ^
Do you just block out what has happened here?
Cats are heading to the bottom of the B1G and when we add 45 teams next year they’ll be even further south in the standings.