by The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations wants Katey Stone, Harvard Crimson women’s ice hockey coach, to resign.
Stone reportedly made racist comments towards players, including two BC Indigenous players
According to the Boston Globe, Stone accused the players of disrespect and that the roster was a group of skaters “with too many chiefs and not enough Indians” after stopping practice in the 2021-22 season.
“In our eyes, she has no place in hockey.”
Harvard did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Canadian Press.
FSIN, which represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan, sent a letter to Harvard’s athletic department demanding Stone’s firing.
“I don’t even care about discipline right now. She should just be let go,” said Bear, who is from the Ochapowace Nation.
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The Boston Globe reported that Indigenous players Maryna Macdonald of Ditidaht First Nation, BC, and Taze Thompson, a member of Metis Nation Alberta and Okanagan Indian Band, BC, have left the team.
The daughter of Philadelphia Flyers assistant coach Rocky Thompson, Thompson played two years at Harvard before joining Northeastern this season.
The 20-year-old forward was the 2020-21 Ivy League Rookie of the Year.
Macdonald, a four-season defenseman with the Crimson, told the Boston Globe that Stone looked her in the eye when she made the comment.
14 players have left the program since 2016
“I had learned to navigate a lot in their toxic environment,” Macdonald said. “But now she respected me and my family and my heritage above anyone else.”
Macdonald and Thompson were among 14 recruited players to have left Stone’s program since 2016, including three this season, The Globe reported in its history.
The newspaper also said former Crimson captain Sydney Daniels of Mistawasi’s Nehiyawak First Nation, Sask., is suing Harvard over alleged racial discrimination related to Stone and the athletic department.
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The university has until February 8 to respond to the lawsuit.
Daniels, who is now an NHL scout with the Winnipeg Jets, was team captain in 2016-17 and Stone’s assistant coach for four years from 2018-2022.
She was the head coach of the US women’s team that lost 3-2 in overtime to Canada in the 2014 Olympic Ice Hockey Finals in Sochi, Russia.
The Boston Globe wrote that Harvard conducted an internal review following Stone’s comment and that the athletic director informed the players that Stone would remain head coach of the Crimson.
“I would urge the Harvard Board of Governors to take serious steps to correct this,” Bear said.
