Former QB Lloyd Yates slaps Northwestern football with a new lawsuit over hazing, explains his dark past: "We were all victims"

The Northwestern University football hazing issue has caused issues for the program that now heads to the courtroom. The Northwestern hazing allegations have been a talked-about issue and now have multiple lawsuits against the program.

Former Wildcats quarterback and wide receiver Lloyd Yates is the latest to head to the courtroom due to the widespread hazing during his collegiate career. He had a press conference on Monday where he called on the players to band together.

"We were all victims, and I want to make that clear. No matter what role - if you were being hazed, or on the perpetrating side - it was just a culture that you had to find a position within," Yates said.

This is the fourth known complaint that has been filed against Northwestern directly due to the hazing scandal. However, this is the first that a name has been publicly attached to it.

"[Northwestern's] committment includes creating processes for safeguards so that what happened in football can never happen again at Northwestern. That commitment also includes celebrating, defending and caring for both students and staff who are unfairly implicated by a broad brush." h/t USA Today

Is the Northwestern University football hazing scandal going to overshadow their season?

The Northwestern University football hazing scandal is going to take precedent over what happens on the field this season. It is unfortunate, but it's also the truth. It will be interesting, though, to see how the players respond to the noise while also potentially being part of a lawsuit.

Northwestern is not considered to be a football powerhouse and finished a putrid 1-11 last season, but they can still be an interesting team to watch. However, whatever happens on the field will be secondary to what happens inside the courthouse. Unlike Penn State, which had a completely different level of controversy, they don't have the football program to really take it out of some people's minds once the game is going on.

That is not comparing Penn State's issues to the Northwestern University football hazing, but just comparing unfavorable situations to one another.

What happened as a result of the Northwestern hazing allegations?

Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald was terminated after being placed on a two-week unpaid suspension earlier this month. During his suspension, more news came out from anonymous players about the Northwestern University football hazing scandal that has been going on for years.

The university determined that Fitzgerald, at least, had direct knowledge of the hazing going on in the program and swiftly fired him. It seems to not be a publicly positive move though, as fans are canceling their season tickets as a result.

Fitzgerald is preparing to sue the university as well. He believes he was fired without cause and should receive the remaining $42 million of his contract.