Chris Beacom (center), former director of baseball operations at Northwestern University, talks about the toxic work environment he and assistant coaches had to endure. Beacom and two assistant coaches filed a lawsuit against the university and former head coach Jim Foster. At a Monday, Aug. 14 press conference with Beacom are Esbrook P.C. attorneys Davis Pustilnik (left) and Chris Esbrook. (Esbrook P.C. photo)

Three former staff members of the Northwestern University baseball team contend that they sustained verbal abuse and bullying from a head coach who exhibited “extreme and outrageous conduct” and that they lost their jobs for being whistle blowers.

In a lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court on Monday, Aug. 14, the three former staff members contend that the environment under NU head baseball coach Jim Foster was so toxic that they would stay in the team’s baseball lounge and other areas to avoid contact with Foster. The former director of baseball operations for the university said his mental health suffered so severely under Foster’s reign that he was forced to begin taking medication again despite years of successfully managing his mental health without prescriptions.

Assistant coaches Dustin Napoleon and Jon Strauss, and former Director of Baseball Operations Chris Beacom have filed a lawsuit against the school, Foster and members of the school’s administration.

Northwestern fired Foster on July 20, three days after firing its head football coach, Pat Fitzgerald, over hazing allegations.

Beacom said he and his colleagues were let go from their “dream jobs” because they reported Foster’s abusive behavior to university officials.

“We reported Coach Foster’s conduct to Northwestern believing that they would do the right thing,” Beacom said. “Northwestern did not do the right thing. Instead, they swept our reports under the rug, putting their staff, student-athletes and reputation at risk.

“Northwestern stood by Coach Foster and got rid of the coaches that blew the whistle on him.”

Allegations in the lawsuit claim retaliatory discharge, harassment, bullying and abuse in the baseball program that led to the demotion and ultimately non-renewal of the contracts of all three men. The complaint also alleges racism, sexism and “egregious tortious conduct” including unwarranted retaliation against the coaches after they reported NCAA violations by Foster to university officials.

“Chris, Jon and Dusty were trying to do the right thing as whistle blowers in telling the school of the head coach’s NCAA violations and a bullying attitude that led to the potential harm of baseball players. Yet, Northwestern turned its back on them,” said the staff members’ attorney, Chris Esbrook of Esbrook P.C. “The university worked on a code of silence instead of working through the issues reported by these brave coaches.

“This conduct cannot be tolerated at Northwestern or any school that is entrusted to take care of its student-athletes as well as its coaches and staff. The university and its administration have an obligation to ensure the safety and well-being of student-athletes and staff.”

The former baseball staffers said Foster exhibited volatile, unpredictable behavior with frequent blow-ups.

The lawsuit contends that Foster approached a student-athlete during a high school weekend camp to give advice on how to pitch and referred to a batter the student-athlete faced as the “Chinese kid.”

He also allegedly stated that he did not want the female team manager on the field because he did not want “the guys staring at her ass.”

The former baseball staffers said Foster created such a toxic environment that they were too uncomfortable to go to the team lunchroom because they would have to interact with Foster.

They said he frequently yelled at staff members in profanity-laced tirades, telling them, for

example, to “just f—ing answer (his) question.”

The former coaches said Foster repeatedly asked staff members to violate NCAA rules, including meeting with underage players and conducting unofficial visits.

The three said Foster put student-athletes at risk by attempting to deny them appropriate medical care, noting that a pitcher on the team was “needlessly injured” and forced to undergo surgery.

“This is just one example of Northwestern’s negligence in both hiring Foster and retaining him after a multitude of allegations to the NCAAA and the university – allegations that Northwestern was ultimately (albeit belatedly) able to substantiate via its own internal investigation,” the lawsuit contends.