Former Harvard women’s hockey coach Stone sues school

Katey Stone, the former coach of Harvard women’s ice hockey, filed a sex discrimination lawsuit against the university on Tuesday, alleging that Harvard forced her to resign after what she said were false reports of misconduct and that the university undervalues ​​and underpays female coaches.

Stone, who retired in June 2023, announced the lawsuit Tuesday afternoon during a press conference with her legal team and former Harvard hockey players.

Stone coached at Harvard for 27 seasons but left her post amid an investigation into allegations of player mistreatment, including insensitivity to mental health issues, downplaying injuries, leading derogatory chants aimed at players and creating a climate in which players were pitted against each other to curry favor with her. Multiple articles, including a March 2023 report in The Athleticsalso reported that bullying occurred within her program. The Athletics elaborate hazing and initiation rituals involving forced alcohol consumption and sexualized skits and traditions, including an annual event that has existed for decades called “naked skating.”

The lawsuit alleges that Harvard forced Stone to resign over these allegations of misconduct, which she called false, and described the school’s actions as “part of a larger culture at the university in which female coaches are undervalued, underpaid, heavily scrutinized, and held to a breathtakingly stricter standard of conduct than their male colleagues.”

“Today, when coaches, particularly female coaches, challenge athletes to be their best, they are taking a significant risk,” Stone said in his prepared remarks Tuesday. “The mental health crisis for young adults is real. Coaches are always trying to find the balance between pushing too hard and reinforcing mediocrity, while cultural norms make it harder to aim high.”

Stone said that “female coaches are viewed by too many athletes, parents and administrators as harmful, even emotionally abusive. The coaching profession is losing outstanding coaches at an alarming rate as scrutiny becomes more intense and biased compared to our male colleagues.”

When asked for comment, a Harvard spokesperson said the school does not comment on pending litigation.

Neither Stone nor her attorney, Andrew T. Miltenberg of Nesenoff & Miltenberg LLP, have directly commented on specific allegations against Stone made in The Athletics‘s story, except for a racially insensitive phrase she used in the locker room in March 2022, when she said, “there are too many chiefs … not enough Indians.” Miltenberg characterized it as a “generic phrase” that “a lot of us have used.”

Miltenberg said the incident “became the catalyst, the pretext, for Harvard to launch a campaign to undermine and ultimately force Katey Stone to resign.” He said it was a campaign “that began when Coach Stone raised the fact that she was undervalued and underpaid.”

The lawsuit states that around 2017, Stone and other female coaches at Harvard “began to vigorously advocate for transparency about pay and equity between male and female coaches at Harvard.”

Harvard has hired a law firm to conduct an outside investigation into Stone’s program after The Athletics‘s March 2023 report, which detailed allegations of hazing, initiation rituals, body shaming and an environment described by one person involved in the program as “a mental health hunger game.”

The Athletics reported that in some years of the “naked skate,” freshmen were told to do a “Superman” slide on the ice, causing some to suffer ice burns and bleeding nipples. The “naked skate” occurred in January 2023, the day after a story was published in The Boston Globewho first reported allegations of Stone’s misconduct toward players. After a player became upset about the event, Stone and her staff met with the team and told them it was an unauthorized activity.

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According to an internal email from athletic director Erin McDermott, obtained by The AthleticsThe findings of the external investigation by law firm Jenner & Block clearly showed “that some traditions were experienced differently by different people in recent years and that not everyone felt comfortable participating in those activities or raising concerns about the program.”

At the time of her firing, Stone said that “a coach knows in his heart when it’s time for a change” and said she looked forward to “supporting the next chapter in Harvard women’s hockey.” The press release announcing her departure made no mention of the allegations against Stone or the external review. Following the review, the school announced that Harvard Athletics would end team traditions “that are detrimental to team culture” and undertake initiatives to address player safety and well-being.

Stone said in her lawsuit that she was unaware of any inappropriate behavior such as the “naked skating” and that she emphasized to the players that any form of hazing was prohibited. She also said that she “fostered an environment of respect and dignity” and that Harvard “permits, if not openly encourages, male coaches to use their own judgment in best coaching and motivating the players on their respective teams, but that Coach Stone was harshly disciplined and criticized for engaging in the same coaching strategies and behaviors.”

Stone said Tuesday that the well-being of her players has always been her priority and that Harvard had told her to remain silent as she was embroiled in investigations and faced allegations from former players.

“As a result, incredible damage has been done to my career, to my team, to my personal and professional reputation, and to my life. Today, with the filing of this lawsuit, my voice will finally be heard,” she said.

She did not answer questions from reporters present, citing the ongoing litigation.

Three former Harvard players — Kalley Armstrong, Nicole Corriero and Jamie Hagerman Phinney — defended Stone, saying she played a critical role in their personal and professional development and created a culture of high performance and excellence within her program.

In the lawsuit, Stone also names 50 Jane Doe defendants, whom she is suing for defamation. Stone alleges that those parties made false statements to The Boston Globe and Harvard, resulting in reputational damage. She is also suing those anonymous defendants for conspiracy, saying they falsely stated that she “engaged in or promoted a culture of hazing.”

Stone characterized those who spoke out against her as a “small number” of people who “did not feel supported.”

Miltenberg stated that her strict coaching standards were the basis for the players’ dissatisfaction:

“Some people who have been pampered all their lives don’t like it.”

(Photo: Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)