UM Hockey Coach Out After Scathing Report Says He Lied To Officials

MICHIGAN — University of Michigan hockey coach Mel Pearson will not return for the 2022-23 season, after a scathing report found he did not seriously answer questions and routinely lied to investigators, who were looking into a complaint that was filed against the program in October 2021, the university's Director of Athletics Warde Manuel announced Friday.

The complaint was filed by Steve Shields, a former Wolverine goalkeeper who was working within the program as a volunteer, accusing Pearson and then-director of hockey operations Rick Bancroft of "pressuring students to lie on their COVID-19 tracing forms" and creating a "toxic work environment" for female support staff.

Although the scathing report, obtained by the Detroit Free Press among others, did not say Pearson violated the university's policy on sexual and gender-based misconduct, it still found "multiple instances," in which "team leadership acted unprofessionally — especially in interactions with female staff members and in treatment of student athletes."

WilmerHale, which also handled the investigation against former University of Michigan team doctor Dr. Anderson earlier this year, also said Bancroft was aware that the doctor was sexually abusing members of the football team, according to the report.

"It has been determined that Mel Pearson will not return as our ice coach," Manuel said. "This decision has been weighed heavily and for some time. We welcomed an independent third-party review into the climate and culture of our program before furthering our assessment in lockstep with campus leadership."

Former Wolverine goaltender Strauss Mann, who captained Michigan in 2020-21, also brought up the concerns, leading to Pearson to dismissing Mann from the program because he saw Mann's concerns as a threat to his head coaching job, according to the report.

Pearson, 63, coached the Wolverines for the past five seasons, including a Frozen Four appearance earlier this year. The heavily favored Wolverines, who some deemed to be the most talent roster in the program's rich history, were upset by Denver in a 3-2 overtime loss.