09/10/26 12:41:00
Printable Page
09/10 12:39 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 lawsuit says Red Berenson, who was coach from 1984 to 2017, was aware of
the abuse and did not intervene.
Berenson announced the end of "freshman hazing" in 2012, referring to
first-year players being forced to carry equipment and eat team meals. 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 in recent years has faced other allegations of sexual
misconduct. In 2022, it agreed to pay $490 million to settle claims by more
than 1,000 people who said a sports doctor sexually assaulted them during his
nearly 40-year career at the school.
|
