COOK COUNTY, Ill. — For the third time this week, a lawsuit has been filed in the wake of a hazing scandal at Northwestern University.
Once again, it lists a number of current and former employees of the school as defendants.
Chicago-based lawyer Patrick A. Salvi II of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard and Denver-based lawyer Parker Stinar of the Stinar Law firm announced that a lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a “John Doe 3.”
It’s the third such lawsuit to come from the attorneys this week, with it being officially filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County on Thursday afternoon.
This former football player was on the team from 2018-2022 and lists Northwestern University, current president Michael Schill, former president Morton Schapiro, the Board of Trustees at the school, current athletic director Dr. Derrick Gragg, former athletic director Jim Phillips, and former head coach Pat Fitzgerald as defendants.
A “John Doe 2,” who also played at the school from 2018 through 2022, filed a lawsuit against the same defendants. Announced at a news conference on Wednesday, Salvi and Stinar officially filed the lawsuit on Thursday along with the one for “John Doe 3.”
The first lawsuit was fired by Salvi and Stinar on behalf of a “John Doe 1,” who played from 2018-2022, earlier this week. That player did not list Phillips as a defendant.
“These student-athletes committed to Northwestern to play varsity sports at a Big 10 school. Athletes who worked their entire lives for that honor, and their families, were promised they would receive a world class education and have the opportunity to develop their skills in a safe environment. But when they arrived and were subjected to this abuse, it was not easy for them to ‘just speak up,'” said Salvi and Stinar in a joint statement. “We have learned through our investigation thus far that those who have expressed concern were subjected to being benched, retaliated against and suppressed. Our clients are coming forward with their stories now because they want to see institutional change so future generations don’t have to suffer what they experienced.
“We are likely just scratching the surface as to how widespread this misconduct was throughout Northwestern’s athletic department. As more athletes come forward with their cases, we promise to honor any anonymity requested by claimants who contact our firm.”
As those attorneys continue to file lawsuits, prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump along with Chicago-based attorney Steven Levin has been retained by 15 former athletes for possible litigations.
At a news conference on Wednesday with the two attorneys, former players Lloyd Yates, Warren Miles-Long, Simba Short, and Tom Carnifax spoke about their experience with alleged hazing at the school.
