Former Michigan hockey players sue university over alleged hazing abuse
Sixteen ex-players of the University of Michigan men’s ice-hockey team have filed a federal lawsuit claiming they were subjected to sexualized hazing between 1984 and 2001, alleging involvement of former coaches.
Sixteen former members of the University of Michigan men’s ice-hockey team have filed a lawsuit in a Detroit federal court, accusing the university and its board of regents of permitting sexualized hazing during the period from 1984 to 2001. The complaint describes practices such as forced shaving of genital areas, attaching testicles to helmets or weighted buckets, and instances of anal penetration.
The suit alleges that the hazing was known to former head coach Red Berenson, who led the program from 1984 to 2017, and that he instructed upperclassmen to shave "from the neck down" to conceal the acts. It also claims that assistant coach Mel Pearson, later head coach from 2017 to 2022, told players to "keep your head down" and "get through it" when a teammate reported the abuse.
"Men as young as seventeen years old—new to adult life and in many cases dependent on hockey to access education at Michigan—were subjected to sexualized abuse that would be immediately recognized as torture under any other circumstance," the filing states.
The complaint notes that Berenson announced an end to "freshman hazing" in 2012, but former players say the majority at the time believed the abuse was peer-initiated and were unaware of any university involvement. It adds that a few who complained faced dismissal and that university staff allegedly downplayed the incidents.
The lawsuit seeks accountability from the university and its governing board for the alleged misconduct.