Four new lawsuits were filed against Northwestern on Thursday centered around allegations of hazing and mistreatment, and two of them named current Green Bay Packers team president and CEO Mark Murphy, who formerly served as the Wildcats' athletic director from 2003-07, according to ESPN.
The two former players who were at Northwestern from 2004-08 filed under the anonymous pseudonym "John Doe." The two lawsuits that include Murphy as a defendant also name former head football coach Pat Fitzgerald, who was the program's head coach from 2006-22, former school president Henry Bienen (1995-2009), and the university's board of trustees.
The two new lawsuits describe occurrences of sexual abuse and racial discrimination, and allege Fitzgerald "knew and encouraged this behavior to happen to these very young and impressionable men" per ESPN. Both ex-players also allege they were forced to participate in "running," a hazing ritual where they were held down and dry-humped by older teammates, during preseason training in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2004. Northwestern fired Fitzgerald on July 10 after 17 seasons as head coach. He denies awareness that hazing occurred within his football program.
Murphy and the Packers "respectfully" declined comment Thursday, per ESPN.
Lawsuits have piled up against the university, as 13 former Northwestern football players have filed suits against the school after Fitzgerald's firing.
