Last week, the list of coaches accused of wrongdoing increased by one, as the Boston Globe published accounts of abusive language and behavior against Harvard women’s ice hockey head coach Katey Stone.
Stone has built a legendary resume since taking the job in 1994. She has more than 500 wins, and has coached such luminaries in the game as Angela Botterill, A.J. Mleczko, Julie Chu, and Angela Ruggiero. These four played internationally, and in 2014, Stone was tapped to coach Team USA in the Sochi Olympics. In those games, the U.S. made the final but lost an overtime thriller to Canada.
Stone’s resume at Harvard has one major trophy: the 1999 American Women’s College Hockey Alliance tournament title. Once sanctioning of the sport was turned over to the NCAA, Stone and the Crimson have come painfully close on several occasions to winning a national championship.
There have been some years, however, when the team has found the going difficult. Since Harvard finished runner-up to Minnesota in the 2017 Final Four, Harvard did not see the NCAA Tournament for six years. This year, the Crimson are 7-13-3.
The report last week in the Boston Globe related the experiences of roughly 16 former players who painted a portrait of a coach creating a culture of fear. The coach was reprimanded for a tirade she directed against her team after losing in the ECAC postseason tournament, including the use of the term, “too many chiefs and not enough Indians.”
The incident was reported to the Harvard Department of Athletics, which did a comprehensive review over the spring and early summer before coming to a decision in July of last year. Stone was allowed to retain her position, but three First Nations figures with the team — assistant coach Sydney Daniels and players Maryna Macdonald and Taze Thompson — left the program.
In the wake of the Globe report, Harvard has refused comment to the media, but the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations in Canada have sent a letter to the university demanding Stone’s resignation.
Now, I’m not in any position to judge Stone’s guilt or innocence here. I’ve seen too many times when coaches are accused of abuse — often when a team is in a poor run of form — and enough players testify to abusive behavior in an attempt to get the athletic department to get rid of the coach. Five years ago, there was a situation at Lehigh University when head coach Caitlin (Williams) Dallmeyer was accused of abusive behavior, but she was ultimately vindicated.
But the number of players cited in the Globe report is significant. It’s kind of like trying to filter through the repeated allegations against the likes of Rory Dames, or Harvey Weinstein, or Paul Riley. Or, for that matter, Bill Cosby.
I cannot say it looks good for Stone, despite all of the good she has done in nearly 30 years at Harvard.
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