Complaints allege both players were first sexually abused as freshmen during pre-season training camp at Northwestern’s infamous Camp Kenosha
CHICAGO, Ill. – National civil rights attorney Ben Crump and Chicago based personal injury and medical malpractice firm Levin & Perconti filed two lawsuits in the Circuit Court of Cook County on behalf of former Northwestern running back Warren Miles Long who played for the Wildcats from 2013-2018 and John Doe 2 who player for the team from 2015-2019. Both complaints allege the players were subjected to ongoing sexual, physical and emotional abuse during their years playing football for the Wildcats. It first began for both of them as freshman during pre-season training camp at Northwestern’s infamous Camp Kenosha. Their lawsuits against Northwestern University include three counts of negligence, willful and wanton disregard for player safety and well-being, and violation of Illinois’ Gender Violence Act.
These are the fourth and fifth lawsuits filed on behalf of former Northwestern football players by attorney Ben Crump and Levin & Perconti in the past week. The lawyers plan to file more lawsuits in the coming days and weeks.
“With each filing, we have a clearer picture of the routine abuse that occurred in Northwestern’s football program and continues to haunt these young men,” said attorney Ben Crump. “The code of silence has been broken. The brave survivors filing these lawsuits are standing up to their alleged abusers and the institutions that reportedly allowed this twisted culture to prevail.”
According to the complaint, Northwestern began recruiting both players when they were 15 and 16. Both were standout players and very good students. Long was the 2012 Northern California Player of the Year and received approximately 10-15 division one scholarship offers. John Doe 2 was also a highly recruited player. Both players and their families were attracted to Northwestern because of the opportunity to play Big Ten football and attend one of the most prestigious universities in the United States. They liked and trusted head coach Pat Fitzgerald who they got to know through the recruiting process. The complaint alleges that Coach Fitzgerald told John Doe 2’s family “he would be in good hands and that NU would take good care of him.”
“Due to Northwestern’s status as the premier academic school in the Big 10 and Coach Pat Fitzgerald’s charisma and promises about protecting players, both the plaintiffs and their families thought Northwestern would be the best place for them to play division one football,” said Margaret Battersby Black, managing partner at Levin & Perconti. “They could never have imagined the abuse they would face. It was a huge betrayal of trust.”
Long was one of two freshmen in his class to play as a true freshman at Northwestern, saw significant playing time during his time at Northwestern despite several serious injuries and received a “school letter” for seeing playing time all four years. Following his career at Northwestern, Long signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Seattle Seahawks in 2018.
The complaint alleges due to his athletic skill and confidence, Long was targeted for sexual abuse by upperclassman when he first arrived at Camp Kenosha as a freshman for pre-season training camp. During Camp Kenosha in August 2013, Long was attacked by a group of upperclassmen while “purge” sirens played. A group of upperclassmen filled the room and forcibly held him down and attempted to run him. A “run” or “running” is a Wildcat hazing ritual that consists of a group of players forcibly holding down a non-consenting teammate and rubbing their genital areas against the teammate’s genitals, face, and buttocks while rocking back and forth without consent from the teammate.
According to the complaint, Long was so fearful of what might be done to him, he physically fought back in order to try to fend off players who were attempting to dry hump him. While he was restrained, Long was touched forcibly without his consent on many areas of his body, including but not limited to his arms, legs, face, buttocks and genitals. He was also allegedly forced to endure another sexualized hazing ritual called the “Car Wash.” While he was in the car wash, his teammates touched parts of his naked body with their naked bodies, and Long was forced to touch his teammates’ naked bodies with his body to go through the “Car Wash” to get to the showers. In another hazing incident, Long was forced to do the” Gatorade Shake Challenge” in 2013. He was forced to drink the sports drink to excess, causing him to vomit two to three times and was sick for two days.
As other players have alleged previously, Long was also subjected to severe bullying when injured according to his complaint. Players with injuries were treated as worthless to the team until they could get healthy. Long suffered a hamstring injury early on in the season his freshman year. He alleges he was forced to return to play too early, leading to worsening and continuing hamstring injuries to this day. He also suffered a season-ending injury in 2016 in the first game of the season, requiring him to take a medical redshirt. While injured, he alleges he was referred to as an “eater and shitter” because his value to the team was nothing but consuming food and toilet space until he was healthy.
Long was elected by teammates to be part of the team leadership council. He approached Coach Fitzgerald with complaints and concerns both involving football and personal matters during his time as a player. He alleges Fitzgerald told him to blow it off and not make a big deal out of it. Fitzgerald’s response to Long’s concerns created a hostility and environment that deterred him from coming forward about additional issues like hazing which was so entrenched and normalized in the Wildcat culture while he was a player.
According to John Doe 2’s complaint, he was first forced to endure sexual abuse going through the “Car Wash” at Camp Kenosha before his freshman year at Northwestern. At his first Camp Kenosha, he and other players were also forced to do naked pull ups, naked rope swings and a naked blitz pick-up. It involved two players who were naked attempting to block, tackle and prevent the other from advancing. Frontal physical contact was necessary to complete the move and both players were completely naked.
John Doe 2 felt forced to do the drill, for fear of retaliation and not belonging to the team. He suffered extreme embarrassment and humiliation and emotional suffering following this public display. Assistant coach Matt MacPherson witnessed incidents of naked pull ups along with other forms of hazing according to the complaint. John Doe 2 was “ran” more than 10 times his first season at Northwestern between August 2015 and January 1, 2016. The complaint alleges, sexual, physical and emotional abuse continued during his subsequent years at Northwestern.
“Playing Big Ten football is demanding enough. It should not require players to be brutalized and sexually, physically and emotionally abused. But that was the case at Northwestern. It was ingrained in the football culture there,” said Steve Levin, founding partner of Levin & Perconti. “The University could have protected its student athletes from all this suffering if it had just enforced its own anti-hazing policy.”
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ABOUT BEN CRUMP LAW
Through his work, nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump has spearheaded a legal movement to better protect the rights of marginalized citizens. He has led landscape-changing civil rights cases and represented clients in a wide range of areas including civil rights, personal injury, labor and employment, class actions, and more. Ben Crump Law is dedicated to holding the powerful accountable. For more information, visit bencrump.com.
ABOUT LEVIN & PERCONTI
Levin & Perconti is a nationally renowned law firm committed to protecting and vindicating the rights of people who have been injured due to systemic flaws and corporations choosing profits over people. The lawyers at Levin & Perconti are committed to protecting and vindicating the rights of people who are injured. The firm concentrates on all types of personal injury, physical and sexual abuse, medical malpractice, nursing home, and wrongful death litigation. Please visit www.levinperconti.com for more information.
