16 Former Michigan Hockey Players Sue Over 1984-2001 Sexual Abuse Hazing

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 11

Sixteen former University of Michigan men’s hockey players filed a federal sex-discrimination lawsuit in Detroit, alleging they were subjected to sexual abuse and hazing while in the program from 1984 to 2001.
The complaint says freshmen were forced into genital shaving, excessive drinking and eating live fish, while one player alleged upperclassmen taunted him with a blowtorch during an initiation ritual.
Red Berenson, Michigan’s head coach from 1984 to 2017, is accused of knowing about the abuse and failing to stop it; the suit says he pressured one player to participate as a "Michigan Man."
Berenson, 86, denied directing or encouraging the conduct and said no one complained to him, while Michigan called the allegations disturbing but argued any hazing would have violated long-standing university policy.
The claims emerged after former players began discussing their experiences in 2024, and the case could test timing defenses Michigan also raised before agreeing to a $490 million settlement in the Robert Anderson abuse litigation.