Court Recommends Letting Ex-Hockey Coach Katey Stone’s Discrimination Lawsuit Move Forward

A federal magistrate judge recommended on Wednesday that the district judge assigned to former women’s ice hockey coach Katey Stone’s lawsuit against Harvard allow most of Stone’s claims to proceed, despite the University’s motion to dismiss them.

Judge Jennifer C. Boal — who has overseen the case — wrote the recommendation, which comes two days after Stone appeared in court Monday to defend her claims that Harvard paid her less than her male counterparts and later unfairly forced her retirement after she was accused of creating a toxic team culture.

Harvard moved to dismiss the case in October, arguing Stone filed her lawsuit past the statute of limitations on claims regarding pay and gender discrimination.

The University also argued that Stone failed to present factual allegations that would support the claim that she was forced out of her role due to gender discrimination, rather than the “‘obvious alternative explanation’ that Stone was separated from Harvard due to mounting concerns regarding her conduct as head coach.”

But Boal argued that Stone provided a “plausible claim of gender and/or sex discrimination” in her suit. Boal only recommended that a small subset of Stone’s claims — related to pay inequities prior to July 2021 — be dismissed.

Harvard had argued that Stone’s complaint should be dismissed because the former coach’s claims were no longer legally actionable under the relevant statutes of limitations. Stone clapped back by arguing that her claims remained timely under the continuing violations doctrine, which allows plaintiffs to seek relief for claims that are part of an ongoing pattern of discrimination.

In her recommendation, Boal seemed to find Stone’s response credible. She wrote that Harvard’s defense was not sufficient to throw out most of Stone’s claims — including claims that Harvard disallowed her from refuting allegations in The Globe, investigated her “for behaviors permitted and tolerated of male coaches,” and forced her to retire while acting as if Stone had Harvard’s full support.

FAS Spokesperson James M. Chisholm declined t0 comment, citing a policy not to comment on active litigation.

Stone’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Stone originally sued Harvard and 50 unidentified individuals in July after she retired as head coach of the women’s hockey team following a 2023 Boston Globe investigation into her coaching practices and team environment.

The investigation addressed allegations that Stone downplayed mental health issues on the team and used abusive language with players.

A review conducted by an outside law firm that concluded in June 2023 found that the women’s ice hockey team had “not fostered a culture of hazing,” but some team traditions were “harmful.”

Stone claimed in her suit that the investigation and events leading up to her leave — including her pay — would have been dealt with differently if she were a male coach.

Following Harvard’s October motion to dismiss, both parties underwent months of legal back-and-forth before agreeing to a March court date.

The recommendation now heads to the bench of Mass. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin, who is overseeing Stone’s gender discrimination suit. Both parties will have 14 days to file written objections to Boal’s findings and recommendations.

—Staff writer Elyse C. Goncalves can be reached at elyse.goncalves@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @e1ysegoncalves.

—Staff writer Akshaya Ravi can be reached at akshaya.ravi@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @akshayaravi22.