More former Northwestern football players come forward amid hazing scandal

CHICAGO (CBS)-- More former Northwestern football players are saying they were victims of hazing and racial discrimination.

Attorneys representing more than 50 former Wildcats student-athletes claim Northwestern coaches and trainers knew about the hazing in the football program, but didn't do anything about it.

Among those who spoke Friday is former NFL running back, Noah Herron, a former captain for Northwestern's football team.

He claimed that, while he was a student, coaches forced him and other Black teammates to alter their appearances. He said that included cutting their hair, claiming the look was "the Wildcat way."

 "White teammates were permitted to have their hair long, but players with braids or longer hair were told they have to cut it. Me and fellow Black teammates were punished for our appearance and personalities and threatened with playing time, starting positions, scholarships, or even the ability to transfer," Herron said. 

Rico Lamitte, who played for the Wildcats from 2001 to 2005, and was Herron's teammate for four seasons, said he and other Black players were subjected to racism from coaches, and forced to conform to White culture.

"I was threatened and forced to conform to 'the Wildcat way,' a toxic environment that had no room or tolerance for me as a Black man, and the culture I was and am proud of," he said.

The university has hired former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to do an independent review.

Meanwhile, former Northwestern University football coach Pat Fitzgerald is suing the school and its president for wrongful termination, after he was fired in July over the program's hazing scandal.