Northwestern Baseball Coach Foster Fired Over Bullying Claims

EVANSTON, IL — Jim Foster, the Northwestern baseball coach who recently came under fire for allegations of bullying within his program, has been fired, school officials announced on Thursday night.

Foster, who had just completed his first season at the helm of the Wildcats’ program and compiled a record of 10-40 in one season in Evanston, was fired by Northwestern University President Michael Schill on Thursday. 670 The Score co-host Danny Parkins had the news first, before the university released a statement Thursday evening.

"Nothing will ever be more important to Northwestern than providing its students a place that allows them to develop in the classroom, in the community, and in competition at the absolute highest level, and building a culture which allows our staff to thrive," Northwestern Athletic Director Derrick Gragg said. "This has been an ongoing situation and many factors were considered before reaching this resolution. As the Director of Athletics, I take ownership of our head coaching hires and we will share our next steps as they unfold."

School officials said Northwestern assistant coach Brian Anderson will take leadership of the program. A first-round MLB Draft selection in 2003 by the Chicago White Sox, Anderson played five seasons in the major leagues, winning a World Series with the White Sox in 2005.

Parkins, who had received tips from a former Northwestern player about the bullying he endured, said Northwestern players were informed of the decision over Zoom Thursday by Schill and Gragg.

Northwestern also fired longtime football coach Pat Fitzgerald on Monday in connection with a hazing scandal within the Wildcats' football program.

Parkins said earlier this week that on Sunday, he spoke with nine people from within Northwestern's baseball program about allegations. Parkins, the co-host of The Score's Parkins and Spiegel Show, read from a prepared script during the show on Monday outlining conversations he had, including with Foster.

“Jim Foster has created a toxic environment that has run off coaches, broken the spirits of his team to the point where they likely will not be able to field a full roster this year, and was the subject of an HR investigation that found him to have violated university policy by engaging in bullying and abusive behavior, making inappropriate comments about a female staffer and speaking negatively about his staff to other staff members," Parkins said during the segment. "He also is alleged to have made comments that were racially insensitive and discouraged members of the team from seeking medical attention for their injuries.

He continued: “The university report did not find enough evidence to corroborate those allegations. However, the university did not speak to any players on the team while investigating those allegations."

Earlier this week, the Chicago Tribune reported that former players and others close to the Northwestern baseball program informed Schill and Gragg of allegations of bullying and abusive behavior by Foster.

That launched an investigation by the university, which found “sufficient evidence” that Foster “engaged in bullying and abusive behavior,” according to an internal HR document obtained by the Tribune. The probe went on to conclude that Foster “made an inappropriate comment regarding a female staff member, and spoke negatively about his staff to other staff members.”

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