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

Katey Stone, the former coach of Harvard women's ice hockey, filed a sex discrimination lawsuit against the university on Tuesday, alleging that Harvard forced her to resign after what she said were false reports of misconduct and that the university undervalues ​​and underpays female coaches.

Stone, who retired in June 2023, announced the lawsuit Tuesday afternoon during a press conference with 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 player mistreatment, including insensitivity to mental health issues, downplaying injuries, leading derogatory chants aimed at players and creating a climate in which players were pitted against each other to curry favor with her. Multiple articles, including a March 2023 report in The Athleticsalso reported that bullying occurred within her program. The Athletics elaborate hazing and initiation rituals involving forced alcohol consumption and sexualized skits and traditions, including an annual event that has existed for decades called “nude skating.”

The lawsuit alleges that Harvard forced Stone to resign over these allegations of misconduct, which it calls false. It also describes the school's actions as part of a broader culture at the university in which female coaches are undervalued, underpaid, heavily supervised and held to much stricter standards of conduct than their male colleagues.

Today, coaches, especially female coaches, are taking a significant risk in challenging athletes to be their best, Stone said in a prepared speech Tuesday. The mental health crisis for young adults is real. Coaches are constantly trying to find the balance between pushing too hard and reinforcing mediocrity, while cultural norms make it harder to aim high.

Stone said that female coaches are viewed as harmful, even emotionally abusive, by too many athletes, parents and administrators. The coaching profession is losing outstanding coaches at an alarming rate as scrutiny becomes more intense and biased compared to our male colleagues.

When asked for comment, a Harvard spokesperson said the school does not comment on pending litigation.

Neither Stone nor her attorney, Andrew T. Miltenberg of Nesenoff & Miltenberg LLP, have directly commented on specific allegations against Stone made in The Athleticss story, except for a racially insensitive line she used in the locker room in March 2022, when she said there are too many chiefs and not enough Native Americans. Miltenberg characterized it as an overused line that many of us have used.

Miltenberg said the incident became the catalyst, the pretext, for Harvard to launch a campaign to undermine and ultimately force Katey Stone out of office. He said it was a campaign that began when Coach Stone called out the fact that she was undervalued and underpaid.

The lawsuit alleges that around 2017, Stone and other female coaches at Harvard were vocal advocates for salary transparency and parity between male and female coaches at Harvard.

Harvard has hired a law firm to conduct an outside investigation into the Stones program after The AthleticsThe March 2023 report detailed allegations of hazing, initiation rituals, body shaming and an environment that one person involved with the program described as a “Hunger Games for mental health.”

The Athletics reported that in some years of the naked skate, freshmen were told to do a Superman slide on the ice, causing some to suffer ice burns and bleeding nipples. The naked skate took place in January 2023, the day after a story was published in The Boston Globewho first reported allegations of Stone's misconduct toward players. After a player became upset about the event, Stone and her staff met with the team and told them it was an unauthorized activity.

According to an internal email from athletic director Erin McDermott, obtained by The AthleticsThe findings of the external investigation by law firm Jenner & Block showed that some traditions were experienced differently by different people in recent years and that not everyone felt comfortable participating in those activities or raising concerns about the program.

At the time of her firing, Stone said that a coach knows in his heart when it’s time for a change and said she looked forward to supporting the next chapter in Harvard women’s hockey. The press release announcing her departure made no mention of the allegations against Stone or the external review. Following the review, the school announced that Harvard Athletics would end team traditions that are detrimental to team culture and take initiatives to address player safety and well-being.

Stone said in her lawsuit that she was unaware of any inappropriate behavior such as the naked skating and that she emphasized to the players that hazing of any kind was prohibited. She also said that she fostered an environment of respect and dignity and that while Harvard permits, but does not openly encourage, male coaches to use their own judgment in coaching and motivating the players on their respective teams, Coach Stone was harshly disciplined and criticized for employing the same coaching strategies and behaviors.

Stone said Tuesday that the well-being of her players has always been her priority and that Harvard had told her to remain silent as she was embroiled in investigations and faced allegations from former players.

As a result, incredible damage has been done to my career, to my team, to my personal and professional reputation, and to my life. Today, with the filing of this lawsuit, my voice will finally be heard, she said.

She did not answer questions from reporters present, citing the ongoing litigation.

Three former Harvard players, Kalley Armstrong, Nicole Corriero and Jamie Hagerman Phinney, spoke up for Stone, saying she played a crucial role in their personal and professional development and created a culture of high performance and excellence within her program.

In the lawsuit, Stone also names 50 Jane Doe defendants, whom she is suing for defamation. Stone alleges that those parties made false statements to The Boston Globe and Harvard, resulting in reputational damage. She is also suing those anonymous defendants for conspiracy, saying they falsely stated that she was involved in hazing or fostered a culture of hazing.

Stone described the people who spoke out against her as a small group of people who felt unsupported.

Miltenberg stated that her strict coaching standards were the basis for the players' dissatisfaction:

Some people who have been pampered all their lives don't like it.

(Photo: Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)