Western's women's hockey team says they will boycott all games and practices where coach Candice Moxley is involved after school dismisses allegations of abuse and misconduct, including not responding to reports of sexual harassment.
Western's women's hockey team says they will boycott all games and practices where coach Candice Moxley is involved after school dismisses allegations of abuse and misconduct, including not responding to reports of sexual harassment.
The players of the Western University women's hockey team have written to University president Alan Shepard asking the school to reconsider the return of head coach Candice Moxley. The players are planning to boycott all games and practices Moxley is involved in.
"We had an expectation that Western University would believe us, the survivors of the psychological abuse we faced from Coach Moxley," the players opened their letter.
In the three page letter, Western's players state they do not believe the investigation completed was fair, unbiased, or transparent. The investigation was completed by a former Western University adjunct professor and faculty advisor, Elizabeth Hewitt, following allegations of abuse and misconduct directed at Moxley, and of sexual harassment by now former strength and conditioning coach Jeff Watson.
The Western players are concerned of Moxley's return, stating she knew of Watson's sexual harassment of players, but failed to act. Players claim they reached out to director of sports and recreation Christine Stapleton on March 13, 2023, without response. The players later met with vice-provost John Doerksen, followed by a meeting with Stapleton.
The team claims they made "repeated complaints of sexual harrassment" to Moxley, without action.
In the letter, players outlined the following allegations:
- undefined
- undefined
- undefined
The players then stated they will boycott all games Moxley is involved in, and sent suggestions to the University seeking a new investigation and transparency related to abuse.
You must approach this investigation without biases. We, the Players of Western's Women's Hockey team, will be boycotting any practices and games that Coach Moxley is involved in. If the university is really concerned about student health and safety, then we strongly suggest the following:
"The concerns we brought to the university should not be taken lightly," the letter read. "Why is Coach Moxley's treatment of us (past and present) being swept under the rug?"
"Don't ignore us. Don't silence us."