Sports means much more than games played on the field, even if we want to make it just games played on the field.
Northwestern University’s firing of head football coach Pat Fitzgerald is stunning given the circumstances. He was fired Monday this week following confirmation of continual hazing of players, especially younger players in the program.
Until recently, only those in close contact with the Northwestern program and team knew of the elements of hazing that some individuals, from football to the military, justify as building bonds and creating a sense of toughness.
Northwestern for several generations had been seeking to build toughness to successfully compete with the top programs, especially in the Big Ten Conference. Regardless of purpose, nonethelesss, continual hazing must not be allowed, regardless of toughness-building. There are other ways to build team bonds and elevate a competitor element. Fitz, 48, was a star linebacker for Northwestern and had a certain measure of coaching success in the won-loss element, 110-101. We will be interested in books written on the subject, if any, however, it is difficult for those activities to be justified. High school football players are impressionable and it would be wonderful if Northwestern can find a way to recover from this devastation, win games, and above all else, use a correct sense of purpose to run a clean program. It is easier said than done, however, it is not impossible.
- Summer international sports in July are pleasurable to watch, especially with Wimbledon tennis and top-level golf tournaments. Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics are on the same level.