Robert Morris hockey hires attorney Jeffrey Kessler to represent members of former teams

Jeffrey Kessler will now represent the RMU hockey coalition. Photo Credit: Richard Perry/New York Times

Owen Krepps
June 28, 2021

Over a month after the sudden disruption and cancellation of RMU’s men’s and women’s hockey teams, legal action is being taken against the school.

TribLive reporter and former RMU men’s hockey play-by-play announcer Tim Benz has reported that Robert Morris hockey has hired attorney Jeffrey Kessler to represent the team. Kessler is best known for representing Tom Brady in the 2014 “Deflategate” scandal as well as beating the NCAA in a recent Supreme Court decision 9-0. Kessler is a part of the law firm Winston & Strawn.

Kessler sent a letter Monday morning to the University to let them know that legal action is going to be taken against them, but similar to Black Bear CEO Murry Gunty’s proposal to buy the Island Sports Center, Kessler has not received anything back from President Chris Howard and company.

The current collection of people that Kessler will represent includes about 30 names from both the men’s and women’s hockey teams. Geoff Lawson and Michaela Boyle headline these names.

A lawsuit has not been officially filed yet, but Kessler told TribLive he hopes that it does not have to come to that. If it does, the case would be filed as a “civil claim as the university officials violated state misrepresentation laws,” Kessler told TribLive.

Also in related news, a new organization called the Pittsburgh College Hockey Foundation has been established to reinstate these programs. Former two-time Olympian and Robert Morris alumni Brianne McLaughlin has been named this organization’s head of the board of directors.

More information is to come on this constantly changing and updating story. Continue to donate and share stories like these so that we can #SaveRMUHockey.