News Alert

Harvard Women’s Hockey Players Abuse Allegations Surrounding Head Coach Katey Stone

By Marissa Massaro|Updated on July 6, 2023 (originally published on February 27, 2023)

Katey Stone has been the head coach at Harvard for about 25 years and has been one of the most successful coaches at the NCAA Division 1 level. With great success coaching at an Ivy League school must make it so that every athlete wants to go play for her right? You would think so, but recent reports are actually saying the opposite–instead of players transferring to or choosing to play for Harvard, many are leaving Harvard to go play elsewhere.

A report from the Boston Globe brought about great attention about Stone, who is now being accused of years of abusive behavior. More recently, an alleged series of racist behavior is being brought to attention. In reports, 14 players have left the program since 2016. Three players have left the team so far this season alone. Many former players have spoken out about their experiences playing for Stone at Harvard.

In 2022, the Harvard coach was put under review due to comments that Stone made after the team lost in the first round of the ECAC playoffs to Princeton. During her post game speech to the team, Stone allegedly described her players as a team “with too many chiefs and not enough Indians.” This incident was reported by members of the team and led to the school completing a review.

After reviewing the incident, Harvard made the decision to keep Stone as the head coach, prompting Harvard players Maryna Macdonald, who is from the Ditidaht First Nation of Canada's Vancouver Island, and Taze Thompson, who is from the Cree Nation of Alberta, Canada to leave the team. Along with the two players, assistant coach Sydney Daniels, who is a member of the Mistawasis Nehiyawak First Nation of Saskatchewan, suddenly left the team and sued Harvard for racial and other forms of discrimination related to Stone and the Harvard athletic department. Following this decision made by the school, current and former players began to speak out about their experiences with Stone as their coach.

The players who have spoken out have reported a variety of issues regarding how Coach Stone allegedly treats her players and what her coaching has done to players who have been a part of her team. These reports include allegations of favoring players, body shaming, negative impact on academics, having no tolerance to mental health issues, and pressuring players to play through injuries, among other issues. Stone has been reported as having “little tolerance for those confronting emotional challenges” and telling players who were receiving mental health care to “toughen up and not be a burden to your teammates.” There was even an allegation described by a player who was experiencing a concussion and missed a team training because she was not cleared for it–instead, Stone allegedly ridiculed that player and told them that they were a “disgrace to the program” and “didn't deserve to wear the jersey.” Later, Stone claimed to have forgotten about the player's concussion.

While there are many players speaking out about the mistreatment by Stone towards her players, there are also former players speaking out on behalf of Stone. These players include how well their experience playing for Harvard went and the positive impact that it had on their playing and personal lives. Mixed reports are common in situations of abuse allegations. Regardless of how your coach treats you, you can rate them on 2aDays.com.

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Image Credit: The Harvard Crimson