Former Women's Hockey Coach Sues Harvard, Alleging Gender Discrimination

Former women's hockey coach Katey Stone has filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against Harvard University, claiming top administrators forced her to retire over false allegations of misconduct.

As reported by The Harvard Crimson student newspaper, Stone stepped down last year from the position she had held for nearly three decades. Her resignation came amid an investigation by the university into her coaching practices and allegations from former players that Stone fostered a toxic environment on the team. Allegations included that the coach was insensitive to players’ mental health issues and downplayed injuries.

Related: Longtime Harvard Women's Hockey Coach Retires Amid Abuse Allegations

Stone claims in the suit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Massachusetts, that those allegations — which she described as false — led university officials to push her out. The suit also claims that Stone was treated unfairly compared to male coaches of other Harvard athletic programs.

“Harvard’s attack on Coach Stone is 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,” the lawsuit reads, as reported by Crimson staff writer Jo B. Lemann.

The lawsuit claims that Harvard unfairly held Stone responsible for the actions of her players even though an investigation commissioned by athletic director Erin McDermott did not find a “culture of hazing” on the women’s ice hockey team.

Related: Harvard AD: No Culture of Hazing Found in Women's Hockey Probe

Among the player allegations against Stone published by multiple media outlets:

• Stone used discriminatory language, including once saying that there were “too many chiefs and not enough Indians” on the team while looking at an Indigenous player. (Stone claimed in her lawsuit that at the time of the incident she “immediately paused, recognized her poor word choice, apologized to the players in attendance.”)
• Stone turned a blind eye to harmful hazing practices among athletes on her team. One tradition, described by players as a “naked skate,” left some with “ice burns and bleeding nipples." (Stone claimed she had no knowledge of the practice.)

The lawsuit alleges the university did not take action against male coaches for controversies involving their programs, such as a ritual on the men’s swimming and diving team that involves “jumping from their diving board ‘naked.’” The lawsuit also cites a Crimson investigation that revealed the 2012 men’s soccer team had produced a document that evaluated freshmen recruits from the 2012 women’s soccer team based on their perceived physical attractiveness and sexual appeal. The team’s season was subsequently canceled, but its male head coach held his job for another seven years.

Stone also claims in her lawsuit that McDermott once told her that the toxicity allegations “wouldn’t be happening to a men’s coach.” The lawsuit describes McDermott’s comment as “a shocking admission and endorsement by a senior official at Harvard.”

In addition to Harvard, from which Stone seeks monetary damages, the lawsuit lists 50 anonymous individual defendants "who have conspired against and defamed Coach Stone” or individuals who served as representatives for those who participated in the alleged discrimination against Stone.

“Women who are strong, confident and competitive coaches were once looked up to as role models,” Stone said during a press conference Tuesday, surrounded by attorney Andrew Miltenberg and supportive former players. “Today, these 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,” she added, as reported by the Crimson. “This is the reality across the country, and the unequal treatment of female coaches at Harvard must end.”