Updated: UConn Hockey Hazing Lawsuit Part of National Trend

The Connecticut Law Tribune
Megan Spicer
September 18, 2015

When a former University of Connecticut women's hockey player sued her former coach earlier this month, she became one of a growing number of college athletes to bring claims over alleged hazing incidents.

Shannon Godin claims she was hospitalized for binge drinking in November 2014, after being "egged on" by seniors on the squad. The incident took place at a "Rookie Night" at which Godin was also forced to wear "sexually inappropriate and degrading clothing," according to the lawsuit, filed by James F. Sullivan, of Howard, Kohn, Sprague & FitzGerald in Hartford. "The senior members [also] forced the freshman to drink alcohol on other occasions until they puked and/or passed out."

According to the lawsuit, coach Christopher MacKenzie was well aware of the "culture of drinking" on the team.

UConn and other colleges have taken pains in recent years to educate their student bodies on campus hazing bans, focusing on Greek organizations and sports teams. While plaintiffs' attorneys agree that such efforts have largely been effective, there nevertheless has been several highly publicized hazing lawsuits filed nationally in the past year. While fraternity-related incidents still seem to be more common — and are still foremost in the minds of lawyers — sports-related claims seem to be close behind.

Barely more than a year ago, in August 2014, a former soccer player at Clemson University in South Carolina filed a lawsuit alleging that she was blindfolded during a nighttime hazing incident, spun in circles, and allowed to run into a brick wall. This past June, freshman members of the University of Virginia's swimming team filed a federal lawsuit claiming that upperclassmen subjected them to forced imprisonment, excessive drinking, verbal abuse and forced sexual contact.

Another recent federal claim involves members of the women's softball team at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia. Younger players say they were subjected to mental abuse, bullying, forced recreation of sexual acts and a litany of threats. According to one freshman, an upperclassman allegedly threatened to "rip her head off and shove a softball down her throat." According to the lawsuit, the coach knew about the hazing.

In 2005, research by a doctoral student at the University of New Mexico found that nearly 50 percent of female athletes were subject to some form of hazing. A 2008 national study by the University of Maine researchers found that the most common form of college hazing was some form of drinking or participating in a drinking game.

Douglas Fierberg, of Washington, D.C.'s Bode & Fierberg, focuses on hazing, sexual assault and other civil litigation involving violence at schools. His firm claims to have collected millions of dollars for clients in hazing-related lawsuits.

"First and foremost, hazing continues over extended periods of time because they're embedded rituals that pass from one group that includes members to another group when new members are brought in," said Fierberg. "When you get members of a team coming in, unless they have responsible adult supervision, you have traditions develop and perpetuate that are very difficult to stop."

Embarrassing Activities

Hazing is one of several allegations made by Godin, whose lawsuit also accuses the coach of negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She claims the poor treatment by MacKenzie started before her arrival at UConn.

In late January 2014, while Godin was still in high school in Ontario, Canada, MacKenzie called Godin's parents to tell them he had seen video of Godin's latest game and that she played "terribly," according to the lawsuit. He went on to tell the Godins that she "was not going to be able to keep up, that she would not fit in, that she would lose her scholarship, that she would hate UConn, and that she would hate coming to the rink."

According to the lawsuit, he then called Godin and told her the same. Godin and her parents explained that she did not play well because it was suspected that she had mononucleosis, which was later confirmed.

In August 2014, Godin arrived in Storrs. She played her first game in September. However, according to the lawsuit, the coach didn't have her play in the next 10 games. After winter break, Godin opted to return to Connecticut and tried to do better in the spring semester. According to the lawsuit, she improved her grades, played in 15 games for the hockey team and drank no alcohol. However, in March, MacKenzie told Godin that her scholarship would not be renewed.

The events of Godin's first year "traumatized" her, according to the lawsuit. "The prospect of returning to UConn makes her cry as does the mention of defendant MacKenzie," according to the lawsuit. "She used to love hockey and now she has no interest in playing. She has lost her confidence in herself."

Even before Godin's lawsuit was filed, U­Conn said it's Office of Community Standards conducted an investigation after receiving a complaint this past spring about "hazing-like activities" by the women's hockey team. "The activities included excessive drinking and participation in potentially embarrassing activities," according to Stephanie Reitz, a UConn spokeswoman. "The Office of Community Standards further found that aside from this one ['Rookie Night'] event, there was no indication that the upperclassmen were attempting to intimidate others during the year or otherwise had any expectation that members of the team engage in drinking alcohol."

That investigation also found that none of the coaches "endorsed, encouraged or had prior knowledge of Rookie Night," Reitz said.

The university has a campuswide anti-hazing policy, covering all organizations. This is the only sports-related hazing complaint UConn is currently facing, according to Reitz, though the university has dealt with several hazing incidents within the Greek life system on campus in the past several years. This past school year, three Greek organizations were shut down following a monthslong investigation into hazing allegations.

"The Division of Athletics has reviewed and discussed the critical issue of hazing and the conduct responsibilities of student-athletes with every returning fall sports team and will continue this practice with all intercollegiate teams," according to Reitz. "In addition, the Division of Athletics is bringing in an outside consultant to conduct training related to hazing. This training will be provided to all of the university's student-athletes, not just those members of the women's hockey team."

Forty-four states have approved anti-hazing legislation. Massachusetts explicitly requires college organizations to distribute information about that state's law to new members. Connecticut law provides for a $1,500 fine for hazing. But, like UConn, most universities in the state have launched their own initiatives to supplement state law.

At the University of Hartford, a compliance officer hired by the school to make sure National Collegiate Athletic Association rules are followed educates individual teams, including their coaches, about the school's anti-hazing policies. Additionally, students entering the Greek system are required to go through a five-week leadership program which includes hazing prevention as a "core component," according to Tom Dorer, the university's general counsel.

At Fairfield University, according to dean of students Larry Wielk, all those involved in campus sports must show up for a 6 a.m. meeting early in the fall at which the school's anti-hazing policy is laid out. As the year goes on, university staffers meet with teams to reiterate the school's compliance policies, including hazing. Greek organization leaders are also required to attend the same sessions that address university compliance.

Each September, during National Hazing Prevention Week, Greek organizations participate in anti-hazing education around campus. Some organizations create videos, which are sent to the entire student body. "And while it's aimed toward the Greeks, it's sent to the entire community," said Wielk, who said there has been only one on-campus hazing incident in the past year. "The awareness is made for everyone."

Heads in Sand

The Connecticut hazing lawsuit that's drawn the most attention centered on a Greek organization at Yale.

In 2003, four new Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity members were killed after the SUV in which they were traveling crashed into a tractor-trailer on Interstate 95. The young men were returning home from a trip to New York City that was part of a fraternity "hell week." The driver was sleep deprived. The families of the DKE pledges filed lawsuits, several of which have settled in recent years.

Joel Faxon, of New Haven's Faxon Law Group, represented plaintiffs in the Yale case. He and other attorneys spoke of the complexities of bringing a civil case against a fraternity. In short, he said, "one of the difficulties you run into is the national fraternity attemps to distance itself from the local chapter, even though it has control over everything the local does, and will claim it's not liable for the actions of the local."

The plaintiffs' bar has responded with its own tactics. Stamford attorney Mark Sherman, who has blogged about hazing litigation, said lawyers frequently name mulitple defendants in such cases: individual members of Greek organizations, the local fraternity or sorority chapter, the national organization and the college itself. "Typically, we try to trigger insurance and indemnification coverage for our student-clients," said Sherman, who, like other attorneys, say the vast majority of hazing claims settle in advance of trial.

In sports team-related lawsuits, such as the UConn hockey player's lawsuit, Fierberg, the Washington, D.C., lawyer, said plaintiffs' lawyers focus on the actions of coaches. "Did [the coaches] know or should they have known about what was happening with new members?" he said. "If they knew about it did they stick their heads in the sand or did they do something about it? If they didn't know, was it a circumstance that was a failure to make reasonable attempt to know what is happening to the new members?"

The bottom line, he said, is that hazing takes places when there is "a lack of responsible supervision. No one is saying it needs to be an easy part of the job [of being a coach], but it is part of the job. … I'm not saying that a coach needs to know what is going on in every nook and cranny of that college, that's not the standard. But that doesn't mean that the coach doesn't have that responsibility of being aware."

And so what's the outlook for hazing-related litigation?

On one hand, said Faxon, there may be fewer hazing incidents because of campus educational efforts. On the other, he noted, modern technology has made it easier for plaintiffs lawyers to gather evidence needed for lawsuits. "When you have a bunch of people with alcohol involved, there's going to be someone with their phone out and videotaping and photographing it," Faxon said. "Many times you can prove a hazing event because you'll have some participant putting it on Facebook. If there's anything crazy going on, [younger people] want to record that."