Former Harvard women’s hockey coach Katey Stone sues university for sex discrimination

Former Harvard women’s ice hockey coach Katey Stone sued the university for sex discrimination on Tuesday, alleging Harvard forced her to resign after reports of misconduct she said were false and that the university undervalues and underpays female coaches.

Stone, who retired in June 2023, announced the lawsuit in a news conference Tuesday afternoon alongside 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 mistreatment of players, including insensitivity to mental health issues, downplaying injuries, leading derogatory chants directed at players and creating a climate where players were pitted against each other to curry favor with her. Multiple articles, including a March 2023 report in The Athletic, also reported hazing within her program. The Athletic detailed hazing and initiation rituals that involved forced alcohol consumption and sexualized skits and traditions, including an annual event that dates back decades called “naked skate.”

The lawsuit alleges that Harvard forced Stone out because of these misconduct allegations, which she called false, and described the school’s actions as “part and parcel of a larger culture at the University wherein female coaches are undervalued, underpaid, heavily scrutinized, and held to a breathtakingly more stringent standard of behavior than their male counterparts.”

“These days, when coaches, more specifically female coaches, challenge athletes to bring out their best, they are taking a significant risk,” Stone said in prepared remarks on Tuesday. “The mental health crisis for young adults is real. Coaches are always searching to find the balance between pushing too hard versus affirming mediocrity, while cultural norms make it more difficult to set a high bar.”

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

When reached for comment, a Harvard spokesperson said the school does not comment on active litigation.

Neither Stone nor her attorney, Andrew T. Miltenberg of Nesenoff & Miltenberg LLP, directly addressed specific allegations against Stone included in The Athletic’s story, save for a racially insensitive phrase she used in the locker room in March…