Western University women's hockey team to boycott games, practices due to returning coach

“We, the Players of Western’s Women’s Hockey team, will be boycotting any practices and games that Coach Moxley is involved in,” the players wrote in the letter, which was given to the president on Thursday and forwarded to the media on Friday. “The concerns we brought to the university should not be taken lightly. Why is Coach Moxley’s treatment of us (past and present) being swept under the rug?”

This decision comes after the Western University coaching staff was under investigation for allegations provided by the players of the team. Lawyer Elizabeth Hewitt was hired to conduct the investigation, which resulted in the firing of strength and conditioning coach Jeff Watson.

However, Moxley will be returning to the team even though she was made aware of the allegations and did nothing on the matter, along with allegations made towards her of psychological abuse made by the team.

“In a meeting on June 28, 2023, Ms. Stapleton said that the university staff had identified areas of concern but had decided to allow Coach Moxley to remain on staff for the upcoming season,” the players said in the letter. “This was despite university staff identifying several areas of concern, including player health and safety.”

The letter states the issues the team faced while trying to make these allegations known, including being turned away by Christine Stapleton, the school’s director of sports and recreation. Stapleton also had told Vice Provost John Doerksen that the concerns were minor, but Doerksen learned otherwise when he met with the players.

According to Rick Westhead of TSN, a source familiar with the matter said the team plans on attending its Friday practice and its game in Oshawa against Ontario Tech University on Sunday but will begin its boycott when Moxley returns to the team as early as Monday.

According to the letter, the players hope for the university to have another investigation regarding their concerns from a firm not affiliated with the university, have full transparency and take into regard different types of abuse, and provide a toll-free line for athletes, past or present, to file anonymous reports to help contribute to the investigation.

Moxley has been the coach at Western since 2018, and has also coached in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League and for Buffalo State College in the NCAA. She has previously served as a video coach with Hockey Canada’s women’s development and senior teams.