The University of Michigan and its board of regents have been sued by 16 former Wolverines men's ice hockey players who allege they were subjected to sexualized hazing, including the forced shaving of their genitals and anal penetration, while on the team. The university, based in Ann Arbor, fields one of the most decorated men's ice hockey programs in NCAA history.
The sex discrimination lawsuit was filed Wednesday in federal court on behalf of the 16 anonymous plaintiffs, identified as John Does, a designation commonly used in sexual abuse cases to protect the identities of accusers. "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 complaint read. "The abuse was ritualized, meticulously planned, and sadistic."
One anonymous player claimed teammates singed his pubic hair with a blowtorch while he lay on a trainer's table, according to the lawsuit. Others said older teammates tied their penises to a bucket and then filled it with hockey pucks.
The alleged abuse took place between 1984 and 2001, a dominant stretch for the Wolverines that included four conference titles, seven Frozen Four berths and two national championships. The Frozen Four is the semifinal and championship round of the NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament, and the program competed in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association for much of that period.
Berenson accused of turning a blind eye
The lawsuit claims head coach Red Berenson knew about the abuse but did not intervene. One plaintiff said he reported the hazing to athletic department officials, only for Berenson to drastically cut his playing time afterward, according to the complaint.
"Berenson instructed upperclassmen to shave only 'from the neck down,' so the abuse would be invisible when Plaintiffs were clothed," the complaint read. It went on to describe the hazing as part of what it called Berenson's abusive coaching style, "demanding extreme interpersonal deference, arbitrarily benching disfavored players, cultivating hostility to lowerclassmen, and other tactics that served to demoralize players to such an extent that they were desperate for approval and belonging on the team."
Berenson, a former NHL player who coached Michigan from 1984 until 2017, denied direct knowledge of sexual abuse when contacted by the outlet MLive. "We knew there was a certain element of initiation on our team, and it was usually orchestrated by the seniors," he said. "We didn't promote it. We didn't encourage it."
Berenson has addressed hazing on his teams before. In 2012, he said he had stopped freshmen from carrying upperclassmen's equipment bags, and he acknowledged other instances in which, in his words, "captains got too carried away."
University calls allegations 'disturbing'
A University of Michigan spokesperson, Paul Corliss, described the allegations as "disturbing" but stopped short of issuing a denial in an official statement. "To the extent any former student athlete engaged in hazing or other misconduct, they were violating university policy," Corliss said. "The university first adopted an official anti-hazing policy in 1982. It was one of the first universities in the country to do so, and it has earned its standing as a leader in this area."
Latest in a string of scandals
The lawsuit lands amid a string of scandals that have rocked Michigan's athletic department in recent years, spanning multiple sports programs.
Football coach Sherrone Moore was fired in December after being accused of having an improper affair with a staffer and allegedly threatening her. The university also reached a $1.2 million settlement with a woman who accused a football program staff member of sexual assault.
In January, Michigan agreed to pay $490 million to settle hundreds of sexual assault claims against its former team doctor, Robert Anderson, who is accused of abusing patients between 1966 and 2003. Anderson, who died in 2008, worked as a Michigan athletics physician for decades before hundreds of former students and athletes came forward with allegations against him. Assistant football coach Matt Weiss was fired in 2023 and later charged with hacking into students' online accounts to access intimate photos and videos.
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel has already agreed to step down at the end of the year.
