Berenson allegedly knew of decades of abuse but never intervened

Sixteen men who played on the University of Michigan’s men’s ice hockey team between 1984 and 2001 filed the federal lawsuit in Detroit on Wednesday. The complaint names longtime head coach Red Berenson and alleges he was aware of the conduct and did not stop it.

“The abuse was ritualized, meticulously planned and sadistic,” the plaintiffs’ attorney Michael Pitt said. “Enduring sexual abuse was required to be a member of the Michigan men’s ice hockey team.”

The 72-page complaint describes players being forced to consume excessive amounts of alcohol, to eat live fish, and to have hair around their genitals shaved by teammates. A player identified in the complaint as John Doe 7 said he was taunted with a blowtorch while on a table, according to the suit.

The complaint alleges that Berenson, 86, who coached the program from 1984 to 2017 and is a former NHL player, was aware of the hazing and did not intervene. John Doe 3, according to the lawsuit, told Berenson he did not want to participate in hazing and was told by Berenson to be a “Michigan man” and a “good teammate.”

Berenson declined to comment when reached by the Associated Press. He told MLive.com that there was “a certain element of initiation” by seniors on the team, but that no player had complained to him. “Were there some mishaps? Were there some bad experiences? Possibly, but it wasn’t a matter of direction or encouragement from the coaching staff or from the administration,” Berenson said.

In 2012, Berenson announced an end to “freshman hazing,” which he described as first-year players being forced to carry equipment and eat team meals last. He made no mention of physical abuse but acknowledged that “captains that got too carried away” had prompted the change, according to news reports at the time.

University spokesperson Paul Corliss called the allegations “disturbing” in a written statement but denied institutional responsibility. “To the extent any former student athlete engaged in hazing or other misconduct, they were violating university policy,” Corliss said.

The University of Michigan is likely to argue the lawsuit was filed too late. The university took the same position in 2020 when former athletes sued over sexual misconduct by a campus sports doctor; Michigan ultimately agreed to pay $490 million to settle claims by more than 1,000 people.

The hockey players’ lawsuit grew out of conversations several former teammates began having in 2024.