Football’s meathead culture still exists — even at one of the nation’s most prestigious institutions. That was obvious through the weekend culminating with the firing of Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald on Monday.
What was once accepted — and thought since to be rejected — still endures today. That, of course, is tragic. The only difference is the level of surprise across the 20th and 21st centuries. Apparently, we haven’t come too far.
Green Bay Packers lineman Jerry Kramer wrote a best-selling book in 1968 about how the great Vince Lombardi drove his players to the edge to win championships.
Fitzgerald didn’t have the romanticized chasing of championships as a (poor) excuse. Northwestern punched above its weight playing for the Big Ten title twice since 2018. It also fell to 4-20 over the last two seasons. And then what was going on behind the scenes came to light in what should be the enlightened year of 2023.
Abuse is abuse and Northwestern’s former coach allegedly oversaw a program in which hazing was normalized. Within that culture, young players were supposedly “dry humped” in the dark by upperclassmen. A naked center snapped the ball to a naked quarterback proving … what, exactly?
Certainly not that manly men were shaped by the experience. The conclusion is that, incredibly, the default setting for some coaches a quarter century into the 21st century remains that figurative sledgehammer: beat up players enough and they are become motivated enough.
The difference being that, until now, we thought we were left with only those romanticized versions of hazing. Remember Junction Boys, the so-called “survivors” of Bear Bryant’s preseason camp at Texas A&M? Frank Kush was a molder of men at Arizona State until it was discovered…
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