Big Ten media days will take place this week in Indianapolis, but Northwestern will not send player representatives to the event. In a statement posted Tuesday afternoon, Northwestern’s previously announced player representatives said they will respectfully not attend the media event in light of recent headlines centered around the Northwestern football program.
“After talking with our parents, our teammates and [interim head coach David Braun], we have made the decision to not attend Big Ten Media Day,” the joint statement from Bryce Gallagher, Rod Heard II, and Bryce Kirtz said. “This was very difficult since we were excited about the opportunity to participate in this great Big Ten tradition, and to talk about the game we love and the season ahead. But given the recent events involving the Northwestern football program, we did not want our participation to be dominated by the hazing issue and steal the focus away from football and the upcoming season.”
Northwestern’s alleged hazing scandal recently led to the suspension and subsequent firing of head coach Pat Fitzgerald. From a player’s perspective, it is understandable not wanting to dive right into the media frenzy in Indianapolis and be hounded about this situation non-stop for their entire time.
It is unfortunate the players scheduled to appear felt they needed to make this decision, but it does make sense, and they appear to have treated this decision with clarity and maturity.
Penn State is scheduled to face Northwestern in Evanston, IL on Saturday, Sept. 30. The start time for the game has not been announced at this time. The Nittany Lions will be represented at Big Ten media days by head coach James Franklin, Keaton Ellis, Olu Fashanu, and Adisa Isaac.
A statement from our student-athlete representatives regarding Big Ten Media Day: pic.twitter.com/er6vCO3iRH
— Northwestern Football (@NUFBFamily) July 25, 2023
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