Sports

New Michigan State Coach Pat Fitzgerland Reignites Talk Of Hazing Scandal With Latest Comments

#College Footbakk
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Pat Fitzgerald Michigan State

© Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images


When the Michigan State Spartans hired Pat Fitzgerald back in November, much of the talk was about the alleged hazing scandal that cost Fitzgerald his job at Northwestern.

Fitzgerald spent 17 seasons as the head coach of his alma mater before being unceremoniously booted after a group of former players alleged that he knew about and did nothing to counteract repeated acts of hazing.

Fitzgerald maintained his innocence throughout and was eventually awarded a settlement in a lawsuit against the university and its former president, opening up the potential for a return to coaching.

“I feel very fortunate,” Fitzgerald said. “I feel fully vindicated. It’s been great working through this process. There’s been conversations with a lot of folks. It’s been face-to-face, it’s been on Zoom, it’s been phone calls. [My candidacy has] been received very well.”

Following the settlement, Northwestern released a statement claiming that, “The evidence uncovered during extensive discovery did not establish that any player reported hazing to Coach Fitzgerald or that Coach Fitzgerald condoned or directed any hazing.”

But now it appears Fitzgerald is intent on letting the scandal follow him to East Lansing.

Pat Fitzgerald Said He’s Trying To Make Michigan State Players Puke

Michigan State players underwent their first team workout under Fitzgerald and new strength and conditioning coach Joe Welsh on Thursday, and according to the new head coach, it wasn’t quite tough enough for his liking.

“We only had five guys puke,” Fitzgerald said. “I’m a little disappointed. I was hoping it was going to be 20. That was only a dynamic warmup, so we’ve got a long way to go in East Lansing.”

Now, normally, a comment like that is innocuous enough. After all, it’s not uncommon for athletes to vomit when they’ve been pushed to their physical limits, and it probably happens at just about every program in the country.

However, not every program in the country is coached by Pat Fitzgerald, and given his past perception, he probably shouldn’t go around saying things like that.

Ultimately, Fitzgerald will be judged on wins and losses. But given his past and Michigan State’s disastrous last two football coaching hires, Fitzgerald not only needs to succeed on the field, but also needs to clean up the messaging a bit moving forward.