Sexualized abuse akin to "torture" became the norm in ritualistic hazing among members of the University of Michigan's men's hockey team from 1984 to 2001, according to a new federal lawsuit filed by 16 former team members.
None of the 16 plaintiffs is identified in the suit.
The allegations are graphic and shocking: Many allege they were stripped naked and forcibly had their genitals shaved. Others say during this process, the handles of razors were forcibly inserted into their anuses. Multiple people said they had pubic hair singed by a blowtorch. Others said older players tied a hockey helmet to the genitalia of younger players and filled the helmet with pucks.
"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 abuse was ritualized, meticulously planned, and sadistic," the lawsuit states.
All of the alleged abuse came at the hands of older players. But the lawsuit alleges revered coaches, staff and administrators were not only aware of the reported abuse, it was a requirement to play hockey at Michigan.
"Coaching staff concealed the nature of the abuse and misled the players by chiding the few players who complained to 'be a Michigan man;' that they were not being 'good teammates;' and even penalizing players with reduced ice time," the lawsuit states.
"With the abuse condoned, and in some cases mandated, by trusted adults, the young men relied on their coaches to understand what was happening to them and believe that it was normal. Coaching staff made clear to players that participation in the sexualized abuse was a mandatory condition of playing hockey for Michigan."
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday, Sept. 9, in federal court in Detroit. The 16 "John Does" are represented by Pitt, McGhee, Palmer, Bonanni & Rivers, a Royal Oak-based law firm.
"They want accountability but they want their privacy to go with their efforts to achieve accountability," said Michael Pitt, one of the lawyers representing the former players.
"Given the nature of the allegations that are in the complaint, that's totally understandable."
Pitt told the Detroit Free Press the university knew of this potential lawsuit for more than a year but, they have "declined to engage our clients in meaningful discussions about resolution."
"We looked forward to establishing accountability," he said.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of serious allegations involving the athletic department at the Ann Arbor-based university. That includes previous allegations of bullying and misconduct within the men's hockey program, which prompted an outside law firm to investigate and culminated in the ouster of then-coach Mel Pearson in 2022.
While Athletic Director Warde Manuel said at the time, "our student-athletes having a positive and meaningful experience is of paramount importance," there was no specific mention of years of alleged sexual hazing.
The lawsuit names only the university and its board of regents as defendants, but it says Pearson and legendary coach Red Berenson encouraged the abuse.
"[John Doe 8] and his teammates understood that 'Red’s practice was to shave you from the neck down,' so no one would notice," the lawsuit states.
Berenson was head coach from 1984 to 2017, recording hundreds of wins and earning a spot in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2012, Berenson publicly announced the end of freshman hazing.
“We’ve taken all of the little freshmen things out of our program,” Berenson said at the time, according to The Ann Arbor News. “It’s hard enough to make the transition as a freshman without going through some of that. It’s borderline embarrassment or humiliation.”
The Free Press was unable to immediately connect with Berenson or Pearson. Representatives for the university's Board of Regents and the hockey program did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Pearson lied to investigators amid their probe into his program, according to a report from Washington D.C.-based law firm WilmerHale and obtained by the Free Press in 2022.
Pearson was under fire amid allegations of instructing players to lie on COVID-19 tracing forms ahead of the 2021 NCAA tournament, and retaliating against a student athlete for raising concerns about team culture.
"Our investigation did identify cultural issues within the hockey program that warrant attention," the report stated.
Many of the former players say in the lawsuit they suffered for years from trauma related to the hazing, specifically pointing to substance abuse issues, depression and other mental health problems they believe are directly tied to the hockey program.
The abuse allegations come at a tumultuous time for the university.
Last year it fired its head football coach after revealing he carried on a longtime affair with a subordinate, a situation that prompted a $12 million review by a private law firm. The university released a summary of findings that suggested a series of sweeping changes, at the same time announcing Manuel's departure at the end of this year.
That's in addition to pending criminal allegations against a separate former football coach and a $490 million settlement announced in 2022 with survivors of a former football team doctor who sexually abused scores of former student-athletes.
The players in the new lawsuit are asking for an unspecified amount of money from the university and for the school to require sexualized hazing prevention training for all U-M athletes.
Staff writer Adrienne Roberts contributed to this report.
Dave Boucher is an investigative reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Reach him at dboucher@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lawsuit claims sexualized 'torture' of hockey players at U-M
