16 Former Michigan Men's Hockey Players Sue, Allege Decades of Sexualized Hazing

Sixteen former University of Michigan men’s hockey players sued the university Wednesday in federal court, alleging they were subjected to decades of ritualized, sexualized hazing and that coaches and other school leaders knew about it or failed to stop it.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday, Sept. 9, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit. The plaintiffs are identified in the complaint as 16 “John Does,” and their names have not been published. According to the complaint and reporting by The Associated Press and the Detroit Free Press, the men played for Michigan between 1984 and 2001. The defendants are the University of Michigan and its Board of Regents.

The complaint alleges that players were subjected to forced nudity and other degrading, sexualized rituals and that participation was effectively required to remain on the team. It says coaching staff and other university officials knew of, tolerated, concealed or, in some instances, pressured participation in the conduct. The complaint includes allegations such as forcible shaving of genitals, but the filing frames the broader conduct as a longstanding pattern of abuse within the program.

“The abuse was ritualized, meticulously planned, and sadistic. ... Enduring sexual abuse was required to be a member of the Michigan Men’s Ice Hockey team,” Michael Pitt, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said, according to the AP and Detroit Free Press. Pitt said former players began discussing their experiences in September 2024, which led to the filing of the complaint.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and injunctive relief. Among other requests, it asks that the university be required to adopt sexualized-hazing prevention training for all Michigan athletes.

The university called the allegations “disturbing” but denied institutional responsibility. “To the extent any former student athlete engaged in hazing or other misconduct, they were violating university policy,” university spokesperson Paul Corliss said, according to the AP. The university also said it first adopted an anti-hazing policy in 1982 and that current athletes receive annual training.

Longtime Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson and former coach Mel Pearson are referenced in reporting about the complaint as part of the alleged environment or as people allegedly aware of the conduct. Neither man has been reported as a named defendant in the lawsuit.

The timeframe in the complaint overlaps most of Berenson’s tenure as Michigan’s head coach. Berenson led the program from 1984 to 2017 and won NCAA titles in 1996 and 1998.

Michigan’s hockey program had already faced scrutiny in 2022, when Pearson’s contract was not renewed after an independent WilmerHale investigation found cultural issues in the program and said Pearson made non-credible statements to investigators. In a separate matter, the university in 2022 reached a roughly $490 million settlement with more than 1,000 people over sexual-abuse claims involving former sports doctor Robert Anderson.

A likely early issue in the new case is timing. Because the alleged conduct dates back decades, the university may argue the claims were filed too late, an issue the court could have to address before the case moves deeper into the merits.