Hazing

Northwestern University is facing two lawsuits from former athletes over its role in hazing incidents involving the school’s athletics department. According to one suit, a female student athlete experienced “hazing, harassment, bullying and retaliation” as a member of the volleyball team and sustained an injury while running suicides—an exercise where an athlete runs to every line on the court and back in quick succession—as a punishment. The other suid from former Northwestern quarterback and wide receiver Lloyd Yates alleges he was subject to sexual assault by his teammates as part of ritual hazing. Yates told CNN that athletes “were forced to do acts in the nude as punishment and for other sorts of…initiation.” He described the experiences he had as “dehumanizing” and said, “These were things that were just really graphic, especially [as a teenager and young adult] who was just trying to fit in and make his mark in college sports.” The University has fired two coaches as a result.