New details about the Men’s Ice Hockey Task Force, including reports of hockey players drinking and partying in Agganis Arena and an assault on a female student at a party, have led some Boston University students to question the task force’s response to its findings, coach Jack Parker’s leadership and the BU’s transparency in the investigation.
Students expressed dissatisfaction with provisions the task force imposed upon the hockey team and Parker, especially after The Boston Globe revealed information about the party in Agganis, which was left out in the final report released by BU President Robert Brown.
The Globe article stated that after the hockey team won the NCAA men’s hockey championship in 2009, the team set up kegs in the locker room for dozens of guests and “took to the ice naked to shoot pucks.” Another report revealed that a hockey player had shoved his hands down a female student’s pants at a party and continued even as she was punching him.
BU coach Jack Parker initially denied hearing about the party, but later admitted he knew of “a few guys drinking in the locker room,” according to The Globe.
Jonathan Cantarero, a graduate student in the School of Theology, said the task force needed to take a stronger response to the findings in the report.
“Just because you’re good at sports, doesn’t mean you can take advantage of people,” Cantarero said. “I think they [BU officials] need a strong response. The university should be a trend setter. They need to make an example [out of the hockey team].”
Some students said the findings have led them to rethink their support for the hockey team. College of Communication junior Devin Shepherd said he thought BU needed to be more “explicit” with its reaction to the task force’s findings if it wanted him to stand by the team.
“I’d love to be supportive of the team, but I don’t want the hockey team that represents me and the university as a whole to appear un-disciplined,” Shepherd said. “They get a lot of scholarships and special treatment, so they have certain responsibilities and should live up to higher expectations.”
The president launched the task force in February after former defenseman Max Nicastro was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a female student. Nicastro was the second hockey player to have been charged with sexual assault in the 2011-12 season. The task force aimed to investigate the culture and climate of the men’s hockey team, according to an email Brown sent to students.
When the task force found a “culture of sexual entitlement” among some of the players on the team, its members recommended that the hockey players undergo sexual assault prevention training every year and peer-mentoring, among other provisions. Student-athletes were barred from enrolling in the Metropolitan College as a result.
As for Parker, the task force decided to “normalize the reporting structure” in the Department of Athletics so all coaches report only to the athletic director, eliminating Parker’s position as executive director.
The team declined to comment on the latest details of the report.
A number of students, including College of Arts and Sciences junior Delaney Moghanian, said BU embarrassed itself by shuffling away from the team’s sexual assault issue.
“They’re probably more concerned with keeping the level of their hockey team’s status in the season than taking care of matters,” Moghanian said.
Moghanian said more serious action should have been taken against Parker, who is entering his 40th season as head coach of the team.
“I think that there should be a suspension for the coach,” Moghanian said. “I’m not saying that he should be fired because honestly there are certain things that are out of his control. But I also think there should be team counseling because clearly these men – and I’m sure it’s not all of them, but when you function as a team, you are a team – they should be counseled about what is apparently appropriate behavior, even though we may see it as something very clear. Obviously they don’t get that”
The Globe article reported that Parker acknowledged he knew “a few guys drinking in the locker room” and quoted a player saying Parker “cares too much about hurting the important players’ feelings … He’ll criticize, then apologize.”
William Murphy, a CAS sophomore, also said Parker needs more severe punishment.
“They’re his team, and he spends a lot of time with them,” Murphy said. “I’m sure he gets to know them, so I think that he should absolutely be held accountable. When you spend so much time with these young men, you’ve got to try to impart upon them how to behave when you’re the big men on campus.”
However, Murphy said that the fan dedication toward the men’s hockey team from some of the students and alumni makes this type of decision difficult for BU officials.
“When the most popular team on your campus has members that do such a horrible thing, of course they need to be punished, but it’s a question of – I guess you could say there are people who aren’t going to agree with whatever happens,” Murphy said. “They’re going to think the hockey team was unfairly punished, and I think if BU went all the way, penalized them even further, it would have more adverse effects upon the student body as a whole.”
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