Western University women's hockey players to boycott games to protest return of coach cleared of abuse claims
Members of Western University's women's hockey team say they will boycott games and practices to protest the return of a coach accused of pressuring players to play despite injuries.
In a letter addressed to the London, Ont., university's president, Alan Shepard, the players say their claims of abuse by Candice Moxley and other team leaders have been ignored.
The team has asked for a fresh investigation into claims of abuse and misconduct by team leadership, saying their concerns were not taken seriously and alleging they were silenced by staff from speaking to the media.
"Don't ignore us. Don't silence us," the letter read.
The players also call into question the impartiality of the person Western chose to handle the investigation into the abuse allegations, London lawyer Elizabeth Hewitt. She has ties to Western as the former board chair of both Brescia and King's university colleges, and a professor in the university's law program.
"We do not believe that the investigation was fair, unbiased and transparent," the players write in the letter. "We had an expectation that Western University would believe us, the survivors of psychological abuse we faced from coach Moxley."
The letter comes on the heels of Western's decision to dismiss longtime coach Jeff Watson, who was also named in claims of abuse by hockey players. Hewitt's investigation included interviews with dozens of individuals and confirmed some allegations against Watson, but cleared Moxley of any blame, the university said.
Western's statement, which was sent to media on Wednesday, also said that according to Hewitt, there were no formal complaints by players prior to 2023 and all informal complaints were addressed properly.
The allegations
In the letter, team members allege Moxley pressured them to play through serious injuries, threatened to punish non-compliance by benching players and dismissed players who approached her with mental health concerns.
"By allowing coach Moxley to return, the university has shown blatant disregard for the health and well-being of traumatized students," players said.
According to the players, since February 2022, when the first informal complaints were made, a lack of transparency and follow-through from staff plagued the process, and their first complaints were not taken seriously.
"Everything was just swept under the rug," the letter states.
The students want the school to launch a new, "fully transparent" investigation, conducted by an independent firm with no affiliation to Western University.
There should also be a full-scale investigation into Western's entire sports system, the students say, a request made on Oct. 26 by more than 50 Western faculty members.
CBC News has reached out to Western and Moxley, who were not immediately available for comment.
