DETROIT (AP) — Sixteen former University of Michigan hockey players have filed a federal lawsuit alleging they were subjected to sexual hazing and other abuse by teammates decades ago.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court in Detroit, involves former players who were on the team between 1984 and 2001. The allegations include forced genital shaving, excessive alcohol consumption and other degrading hazing rituals.

The lawsuit alleges that some coaches and university staff knew about the hazing and failed to stop it. It specifically names former Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson, who led the team from 1984 through 2017.

One plaintiff alleges he told Berenson he did not want to participate in hazing, but the coach pressured him to take part by invoking the idea of being a “Michigan Man” and a good teammate, according to the lawsuit.

Berenson, 86, declined to comment on the allegations Thursday.

The University of Michigan called the allegations disturbing but denied responsibility. University spokesperson Paul Corliss said that any hazing or misconduct by former student-athletes violated university policy.

The university also said it adopted an official anti-hazing policy in 1982.

The lawsuit says conversations among several former teammates in 2024 helped lead to the filing.

The case comes years after the university agreed to a $490 million settlement involving more than 1,000 people who alleged sexual misconduct by former university sports doctor Robert Anderson. The university had argued in that case that some claims were filed too long after the alleged misconduct occurred.

The allegations in the hockey lawsuit have not been proven in court.