Katie Stone, former head coach of the Harvard University women's ice hockey team, sued the university on Tuesday for alleged sex discrimination, unfair compensation and retaliation. “This investigation, evaluation and vetting process was rooted in sex discrimination from the beginning,” Stone said. Stone was the team's head coach with great success for nearly 30 years. She claims she was fired last spring after multiple investigations into the culture she created within the team. “The coaching industry is losing talented coaches at an alarming rate as they face increased scrutiny and bias relative to male coaches,” Stone added. Stone's lawyer, Andrew Miltenberg, claims the university used one incident to undermine and ultimately fire her client. “I told my players, 'There are too many Chiefs and not enough Indians on the ice,'” Miltenberg said. “I believe Coach Stone realized quickly that it might offend some people,” he said, adding that his client quickly apologized for the remarks and that a subsequent investigation concluded that the alleged culture did not exist on the ice hockey team. “The independent investigation concluded that the Harvard women's ice hockey team, and I want to say this accurately, does not foster a culture of bullying,” he said. Before Stone's remarks were reported, he said he had expressed concerns that she was being paid less than male coaches despite decades of success. “Katie Stone raised the matter with university officials and was told that men have to make quick decisions during the game,” Miltenberg said. Miltenberg said dozens of Stone's former players have voiced their support for him, three of whom spoke out on Tuesday. “It's fair to say that Coach Stone demanded a lot from us as players and as people. She held us to a high standard, a standard we could maintain,” former player Nicole Corriello said. “Strong, competent and competitive female coaches were once looked up to as role models. But today, these same female coaches are viewed by many players, parents and administrators as harmful and even emotionally abusive,” Stone said. Harvard University declined to respond to Stone's allegations, saying the university does not comment on ongoing litigation.
Katie Stone, the former head coach of Harvard University's women's ice hockey team, filed a lawsuit against the university on Tuesday alleging gender discrimination, unfair pay and retaliation.
“This investigation, evaluation and vetting process has been rooted in gender bias from the beginning,” Stone said.
Stone was the team's highly successful head coach for nearly three decades. He claims he was forced to step down last spring after multiple investigations into the culture he created within the team.
“The coaching industry is losing great coaches at an alarming rate as female coaches come under increased scrutiny and bias compared to their male counterparts,” Stone added.
Stone's lawyer, Andrew Miltenberg, argues that the university used one incident to undermine his client and ultimately force him to drop out.
“I told my players, 'There are too many chiefs on the ice and not enough Indians,'” Miltenberg said. “I think Coach Stone realized pretty quickly that that might upset some people.”
He added that his client immediately apologized for his comments and that a subsequent investigation concluded that no such culture existed on the hockey team.
“This independent investigation concluded that the Harvard women's ice hockey team does not, in fact, foster a culture of bullying,” he said.
Before Stone's comments were reported, she said she had expressed concern about being paid less than male coaches despite decades of success.
“Katie Stone raised the issue with university officials and was told that the boys have to make quicker decisions during games,” Miltenberg said.
Miltenberg said dozens of Stone's former players have voiced their support for her, including three who spoke out Tuesday.
“Would I say Coach Stone demanded a lot from us as players and as people? Definitely. She held us to a high standard, a standard we could hold ourselves to,” former player Nicole Corriello said.
“Strong, competent and competitive female coaches were once looked up to as role models. Today, these same female coaches are viewed by many players, parents and administrators as toxic and even emotionally abusive,” Stone said.
Harvard University declined to respond to Stone's allegations, saying the university does not comment on ongoing litigation.
