A former Northwestern volleyball player filed a lawsuit against the school, the athletic department and coach Shane Davis, among others, on Monday after an alleged hazing incident that occurred within the program in 2021, according to ESPN’s Dan Murphy.
The lawsuit comes on the heels of a hazing scandal within the Northwestern football program this summer, which led to the firing of longtime coach Pat Fitzgerald. Baseball coach Jim Foster was also fired after he reportedly engaged in “bullying and abusive behavior.”
The volleyball player in question, who filed her lawsuit anonymously, said she was injured after running sprints that were part of a “punishment” from Davis. The player said that Davis “enabled a culture of racism, bullying, harassment, hazing and retaliation” within the program.
The player, who played for the Wildcats from 2019-2022, said she contracted COVID-19 in February 2021. Coaches, she said, then punished her for breaking the team’s COVID-19 safety guidelines, something she said she didn’t do. The next month, Davis allegedly told team captains to pick a “punishment” for the player, which led to her running sprints while the team watched and eventually her injury.
A former Northwestern volleyball player said she was punished by coach Shane Davis after contracting COVID-19 in 2021. (Andy Mead/YCJ/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The player said she was isolated after the incident, and that Davis “refused to properly coach her” from then on. The day after the incident, per the lawsuit, Northwestern opened an investigation into the program.
Northwestern spokesman Jon Yates told ESPN that the university “confirmed the hazing had taken place,” and that “appropriate disciplinary action was taken.” The player said the final investigation report was not shared with her, and that nobody within the program was punished whatsoever. The school said it canceled two games as a result and implemented anti-hazing training. A weekend series that spring was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols, and another was postponed.
The player, who said she met with athletic director Derrick Gragg about the issue personally, medically retired from the sport last December.
“Jane Doe’s complaint outlines the institutional failures at Northwestern beyond the volleyball and football programs, shedding light of a corrupt athletic department,” one of her lawyers, Parker Stinar, told ESPN.
Davis will enter his eighth season with the Wildcats this year. They went 18-14 last season.
Fitzgerald was fired earlier this month after 17 seasons with the team after allegations of hazing within the program surfaced. At least two former Northwestern football players have since sued the school, one of whom claimed to have been subjected to “sexualized hazing and physical abuse.” The school has launched two reviews of the athletic department.
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