Northwestern AD Derrick Gragg condemns 'Cats Against the World' shirts worn by football coaches

Northwestern athletic director Derrick Gragg forcefully rebuked members of the football staff who showed up to practice wearing “Cats Against the World” t-shirts on Wednesday. The shirts were also emblazoned with No. 51, the number worn by ousted former coach Pat Fitzgerald when he played for the Wildcats.

Fitzgerald was fired in July amid fallout of a hazing scandal in the Northwestern football program. However, most the assistant coaching staff that worked under him was kept with the program and made their feelings known on Wednesday, drawing Gragg’s ire.

“I am extremely disappointed that a few members of our football program staff decided to wear “Cats Against the World” t-shirts. Neither I nor the University was aware that they owned or would wear these shirts today. The shirts are inappropriate, offensive and tone deaf. Let me be crystal clear: hazing has no place at Northwestern, and we are committed to do whatever is necessary to address hazing-related issues, including thoroughly investigating any incidents or allegations of hazing or any other misconduct,” Gragg said in a statement.

When asked about the shirts, interim head coach David Braun demurred, citing free speech for members of his staff.

Within Northwestern, there seemed to be debate about firing Fitzgerald, who was a star player for the team before becoming the head coach. Now, the remaining assistant coaches seem upset with Fitzgerald’s absence and showed it off by wearing shirts that had his number 51 on them.

The coach in the photo appears to be offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian. He’s been with Northwestern since 2020. Last season, the Wildcats ranked 107th in total offense and 128th in scoring offense.

Northwestern football staffers recently confirmed knowledge of the hazing practices that went on within the program. A former player added, “Fitz absolutely knew about hazing in this program.”

Despite that, the university did not find evidence to prove that Fitzgerald knew about those hazing practices. Instead, they found that the coaching staff should have had knowledge of it and had opportunities to discover the hazing.

Initially, Pat Fitzgerald was given a two-week offseason suspension before university leadership reconsidered and fired him.

Several lawsuits have already been filed against the football program, school, and other teams within the school’s athletic department over this scandal. Recently, Northwestern hired US Attorney General Loretta Lynch to lead an independent review of the athletics department. That review will be made public. However, the initial report has not been made public.