INDIANAPOLIS — Northwestern interim coach David Braun had to know all eyes would be focused on him at Big Ten media days despite being one the conference’s newest faces.
Northwestern is facing a mountain of scrutiny from a hazing scandal involving allegations of sexual abuse, which have resulted in multiple lawsuits and the dismissal of Braun’s former boss, Pat Fitzgerald.
“I never could have imagined, nor did I desire, to become a head coach under these types of circumstances,” said Braun, who was hired in January as defensive coordinator. “That said, I’m honored to lead this group moving forward.”
Braun did say pending litigation did limit what he could say about conversation he’s had internally about hazing, but was candid at other times.
He repeatedly said he didn’t read the full details of an outside investigation commissioned by the university in December 2022 that was was led by Maggie Hickey of ArentFox Schiff.
“I’ve read the executive summary,” Braun said. “And then there’s things that have been brought to my attention that I absolutely had to know. But again, for me to continue to look at my phone and see exactly what’s breaking, I’m trusting our administrators and the support around me to bring things to me attention that I need to know about.
“And (I’m) pouring every other ounce of my energy into the people in our facility, most specifically our players.”
When it was posed to Braun later that Northwestern President Michael Schill revised his decision to suspend Fitzgerald for two weeks and fired him after reading the full report, Braun replied: “The decisions of President Schill are things that I won’t comment on, and to be honest with you, I feel like are really not in my lane.
“And I don’t plan on getting out of my lane anytime soon.”
Braun was the only representative to face the full brunt of the media Wednesday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Three Wildcats players opted out of attending the event, saying it was a “very difficult” decision but one they made to avoid stealing focus from the upcoming season.
Athletic director Derrick Gragg reserved his comments to a one-on-one interview with the Big Ten Network’s Dave Revsine.
“We are committed to fixing all the problems and overcoming all the challenges,” Gragg said, adding he couldn’t go into detail because of “legal complexities.”
Regarding Hickey’s independent report, he said, “Again, we’re not discussing the report and the process. And I want to be careful about what I say on the record regarding whether it’s the report or the process.”
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Since the allegations, Braun said he has had one-on-one interviews with the majority of players.
“I have found a team that has come together, that truly loves one another and has an incredible resolve to attack the 2023 season and write their own story about overcoming adversity.
“Let me be clear, this football team will be ready to go.”
However, Braun sidestepped a question from The Athletic’s Kalyn Kahler about whether he plans to investigate current assistant coaches’ involvement in the alleged abuse.
USA Today reported last week that associate head coach Matt McPherson allegedly saw players doing naked pullups and laughed about it and witnessed players dry-humping other players in a ritual punishment called “running,” according to a former player.
Former NU quarterback Lloyd Yates alleged in a lawsuit filed Monday that he admitted to director of sports performance for football Jay Hooten that players had gone out partying on a previous occasion, Hooten “then announced to the players that Yates had ‘ratted them out’ and assigned additional workout exercises to the group.
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“After the workout in the locker room, Yates was ‘ran.’ ”
Said Braun: “I won’t speak to current allegations. (I) fully trust that our university is going through a process and we’ll make decisions based on the facts.
“What I can speak to is how proud I am of the way that our team has come together with all this stuff swirling around. And there’s absolute resolve and confidence from our leadership within our team of how we’re going to move forward.”
Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti said investigations of violations typically are left to member institutions before the conference steps in.
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“So there’s no investigation being launched by the conference,” he said. “We’ll wait to see the results of those investigations. And we’ll have further comments at that time.”
However, he said the hazing allegations have sparked conversations between his office and various athletic departments about making certain their own houses are in order.
“When something like this happens, our member institutions are going to take it upon themselves to do that, right?” Petitti said. “And the obvious result would be to look at practices to make sure that what’s happening on campus meets the standards that we expect: provide a safe and healthy environment for student-athletes.
“So that’s where that work needs to take place. And I know that in talking to some of our directors and coaches that they understand that.”
That work is well underway at Northwestern.
During the last response during his media session, Braun said: “A lot of people have been impacted by decisions that have been made over the course of the last couple of weeks. And our guys in that facility are going through a lot.
“And we have an opportunity to either run from that or an opportunity to truly stare that adversity in the face, stare it down and go attack this opportunity to make this fall an incredible story that truly embodies what this team is all about. I’ve challenged them with that. And I can say that they have responded to that challenge in an absolutely inspiring fashion.”