OT: Northwestern: A group of players have hired a civil rights attorney
Looks like the attorneys are getting involved from all sides. This is going to get ugly. The attorney the players hired is saying that this is a problem that extends far beyond Northwestern and it needs to be addressed.
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/38024576/ex-northwestern-players-hire-ben-crump-chicago-firm-hazing-case
I imagine more heads will roll and wonder if even the university president is safe. His original decision to slap a two-week July suspension on Fitzgerald's wrist looks worse by the day.
Michael Schill is safe. He just got there after Northwestern‘s incoming President, Rebecca Blank who was a former Dean of the Ford School, was slated to replace Morton Shapiro. Tragically, President-elect Blank got pancreatic cancer and died before she ever had a chance to take up the Presidency. Schill came aboard from the University of Oregon just recently. So, he in no way bears any culpability for the culture that festered in the program and is still just learning his way around Evanston.
I don't think that the president should be in any danger for the reasons you describe. That said, I think that the approach of both him and his AD of not doing open press conferences is a mistake. It seems like they are trying to hide from the issue rather than face it.
2 cents, the only way they get rid of the president is if they believe it wasn't the right hire and use this as an excuse. But that would be a bad look in itself.
I agree with Pete and Energy. While Schill cannot be blamed for what looks to be a longstanding NU problem, in his first public controversy, he did dither and does seem to be hiding. Neither is a good look.
Crump will leave once the news story goes away. Only 12 players signed up. Doesn't seem systemic at that level. If Northwestern waits it out, I think it *may* go quietly into the night.
Always Crump involved. Race-baiter extraordinaire. He is the new Jesse Jackson.
Always ready for a photo op.
Ben Crump defends Black people abused by police. And Jesse Jackson is a civil rights activist. They are advocates. The people who think they're racists are angry old white guys.
Only 12 players signed up. Doesn't seem systemic at that level.
Flawed reasoning, for a few reasons:
1. You're not going to have everyone come forward for something like this. Some may not want to sue their own school, or just don't want to revisit a painful experience again.
2. These players played across a 15+ year period.
3. It's only been a few days.
I think the 15 year period actually cuts against their credibility.
... and the only ones who win, after all is said and done, are the lawyers anyway.
"kill all the lawyers...."
Shakespeare
I think Rufio said it better, personally.
+1 for the Hook reference
Well played, indeed!
I'm almost certain that Ghandi said that, too. Or Jesus. One of those guys.
Or Danny Devito in "Other People's Money"
I'm fairly certain it wasn't Jesus.
I'm a lawyer (M Law '91). I understand this sentiment, especially in large plaintiffs' cases. However, keep in mind that the fear that "writing big checks" is one of the only ways to hold systemic miscreants accountable and often to adequately fund rehabilitative efforts.
Years ago there was a study of the effectiveness of the American system (plaintiffs lawyers and lawsuits) vs the Japanese system (heavy govt regulations). Overwhelmingly the Japanese corporations favored the American system over heavy regulation. So did the American corporations.
The American system has many, many faults. Most injustices go unrecompensed. But the fear of the big paycheck is a motivator. How effective is up for debate.
Not an expert or a lawyer, and I don't know the first thing about the Japanese system, but "corporations favor it" isn't exactly a ringing endorsement in isolation.
I think Carlos Ghosn also would favor the US legal system vs. the Japanese.
I have met the guy several times. The cops are at fault for not checking the speaker box. Dude is 5’2” on a good day,
Mr. Lawyer,
Can I, or can I not, keep a hummingbird as a pet in this country?
Bird law in this country is not governed by reason.
As Henry David Thoreau said: Simplify, simplify, simplify. ... or was that Stalin?
Either way - they made do without the excess litigation.
Something tells me that Stalin's method of simplification would not be up to US legal standards. I could be wrong, though.
I was a year behind you in law school. My recollection (perhaps a bit hazy after 30 years) is that my torts professor, Rebecca Eisenberg, talked about how New Zealand had put hard caps on products liability damages. That meant that only the most clear-cut cases got filed, and also that American toy companies sold new toys in New Zealand as test before the US since if something happened to a kid there as result of a faulty design the damages would be low.
You had Eisenberg for torts? Weird, she was strictly IP when I was there...
After the Johnstown Flood in 1889 the owners of the South Fork Dam, the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, were never held legally responsible for the disaster despite having made unwise alterations to the dam and failed to maintain it properly. 2200 dead and WW2-level of destruction to Johnstown.
Members of the club included Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick.
If American corporations favor the American system, then you know it's fucked up.
Got into a long conversation with an engineer for a defense contractor the other day and we both concluded that AI would replace him and many others' jobs before the lawyers are affected. Fun conversation to have over a few drinks.
Both jobs will be tough to replace with AI. They require intuition, creativity, and problem-solving skills. They will not be easily replaced.
Paralegals doing research on the other hand, should be a little concerned.
So long as lawyers make the laws, they'll protect their own.
Everybody hates lawyers. Until they need one. 😉
Hi. Not an attorney. Is hazing considered a civil rights issue? Honest question.
User name oddly seems to check out here.
Did you miss the various reports of overtly racist conduct that came out a few days before Fitz got the axe?
Do tell.
Maybe, maybe not. But racist hazing certainly is.
I would say that the AD is toast. However, these guys seem to have 9 lives when you look at Warde with Mel and Shemy.
"Warde, Mel, and Shemy" made me think of this
Its a reach to compare anything Warde has done/been accused of to what has come to light at NW.
You must be really pissed at Warde to even imagine connecting those dots.
Well, there was this Doctor named Anderson. . .
Anderson is now Warde's fault? What?
The attempt to connect is real, cobwebs and all.. An older manager I had used to tell me responsibility lays where ever they can put it. Doesn't matter if it's only connected with cob webs. If that's the connection that's what they use... Gist was keep clear..
That's not really a deduction you can make from my comment. Nor can you make any deduction about Warde from it. Only that Warde had his own awful scandal to deal with. He WAS criticized for not speaking out more strenuously, but I have no idea what all the internal pressures were.
Thad has a weird obsession with ragging on Warde. It’s borderline creepy at this point in all honesty.
The Mel hockey thing was pretty similar to Northwestern in terms of abusive behavior. The Shemy thing was bad but not on that level.
I’ll bite. What exactly about the Mel situation was remotely similar to what was happening at Northwestern?