09/10/26 01:48:00
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09/10 13:47 CDT Former hockey players at University of Michigan sue, say they
were sexually abused decades ago
Former hockey players at University of Michigan sue, say they were sexually
abused decades ago
By ED WHITE
Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) --- More than a dozen former hockey players are suing the
University of Michigan, alleging their coach and other staff were aware of
sexual hazing that included the forced shaving of their genitals and other
abuse by teammates decades ago.
"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," attorney Michael Pitt said in a sex discrimination lawsuit filed
Wednesday in federal court in Detroit.
The plaintiffs are 16 men who played at Michigan between 1984 and 2001. The
lawsuit apparently grew out of conversations among several former teammates in
2024.
The university said the allegations are "disturbing," but denies responsibility.
"To the extent any former student athlete engaged in hazing or other
misconduct, they were violating university policy," spokesperson Paul Corliss
said in a written statement.
"The university first adopted an official anti-hazing policy in 1982. It was
one of the first universities in the country to do so, and it has earned its
standing as a leader in this area," he said.
The 72-page document describes players being forced to consume excessive
amounts of alcohol and eat live fish. A common allegation: They were forced to
have hair around their genitals shaved by teammates. A player identified as
John Doe 7 said he was taunted with a blowtorch while on a table.
The lawsuit says Red Berenson, who was coach from 1984 to 2017, was aware of
the abuse and did not intervene.
John Doe 3 said he told Berenson that he didn't want to participate in the
hazing. The coach coerced him by telling him to be a "Michigan Man" and a "good
teammate," according to the lawsuit.
Berenson announced the end of "freshman hazing" in 2012, mostly referring to
first-year players being forced to carry equipment and eat team meals last. He
made no mention of physical abuse but acknowledged "captains that got too
carried away," according to news reports at the time.
Berenson, 86, declined to comment on the lawsuit Thursday.
"Give me a chance to absorb what's going on," the former NHL player said.
The university could argue that the hockey players waited too long to file a
lawsuit, a position it took in 2020 when former athletes sued over sexual
misconduct committed decades earlier by a campus sports doctor. The university
ultimately agreed to pay $490 million to settle claims by more than 1,000
people.
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