CNN
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A former volleyball player has filed a lawsuit alleging hazing within Northwestern University’s women’s volleyball team – the latest accusation against the school’s athletic programs.
According to the lawsuit, filed Monday, a person who was listed as “Jane Doe” experienced “hazing, harassment, bullying and retaliation” as a member of the 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 punishment for allegedly breaking the team’s Covid-19 protocols.
Following the injury, in March 2021, the university conducted an investigation into the hazing allegation, according to both the filing and a statement from the school.
The investigation found hazing had taken place, canceled two games and instituted anti-hazing training, Northwestern said.
In the lawsuit, Doe alleges that following the investigation and through December 2022, she “never once played in a volleyball game at Northwestern.”
The filing alleges Doe was retaliated against for her role in the hazing investigation. Doe names Northwestern University, university president Michael Schill, former president Morton Schapiro, the school’s board of trustees, university vice president for athletics and recreation Dr. Derrick Gragg, former university vice president for athletics and recreation Dr. James Phillips, and head volleyball coach Shane Davis as defendants.
In a statement provided Monday to CNN, Northwestern spokesperson Jon Yates said the school is working to ensure “accountability” for its athletic department.
“This includes the engagement of a firm to evaluate the sufficiency of our accountability mechanism and to detect threats to the welfare of our student-athletes,” Yates said.
Doe is seeking at least $50,000 in damages and a jury trial. Attorneys representing the unnamed plaintiff say a petition to continue the lawsuit without naming her is still pending.
Last week, attorneys representing at least 15 former Northwestern student athletes announced plans to sue the university over allegations its athletics department fostered a “toxic culture” that facilitated harassment and sexual abuse.
And earlier this month, longtime head football coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired due to allegations of hazing in the Wildcats football program. An independent investigation commissioned by Northwestern prior to the firing found evidence of ongoing hazing that included “forced participation, nudity and sexualized acts of a degrading nature,” university president Schill said in a letter.
Though the investigation found no “credible evidence” Fitzgerald was aware of the alleged hazing, the head coach is ultimately responsible for the team’s culture, Schill said. Fitzgerald has denied any knowledge of hazing in the program.
In a Monday email to the Northwestern community, Schill said the school is committed to protecting “students’ safety and well-being,” which “includes thoroughly investigating any instance or allegation of hazing or mistreatment.”
“That commitment includes creating processes and safeguards so that what happened in football can never happen again at Northwestern,” Schill wrote.
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