
Jade Arnone, a prominent freshman defender for the Harvard women’s hockey team this past season, has entered the transfer portal, and Lee-J Mirasolo, the Crimson’s associate head coach, has taken a leave of absence, The Athletic has learned.
Arnone, 18, was a top four defender for the Crimson this season, had the second most points for a defender and appeared in 30 games. She declined to comment when reached by phone Thursday evening.
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Arnone is the 10th player to exit the program with eligibility remaining in the last two years. But the majority of those remained at Harvard as students. Arnone is the second standout Harvard freshman to enter the transfer portal in as many years. Taze Thompson, the Ivy League rookie of the year, transferred to Northeastern last year. Thompson won a Hockey East championship this past season and went to the NCAA Frozen Four with the Huskies.
Mirasolo, an assistant who has been with the program since 2015, recently informed the team of her decision to take a leave of absence via email. It is unclear how long she will be on leave; Mirasolo did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Mirasolo, a former Boston College player, joined the program following four seasons as an assistant coach at Princeton. Prior to that, she coached at both UMass Boston and Phillips Academy Andover. Mirasolo has been heavily involved in recruiting at Harvard in recent years.
When reached for comment about Mirasolo’s leave, Rachael Dane, a Harvard spokesperson, said via email: “This isn’t our news to comment on.”
This week, a law firm hired by the school, Jenner and Block, began contacting current and former players as part of an investigation into the program — a probe that followed reports by The Athletic and the Boston Globe that included allegations of insensitivity to mental health issues and other problematic behavior by head coach Katey Stone and others. Players also detailed incidents of hazing within the team.
The Athletic’s story detailed a November 2018 incident in which Mirasolo allegedly made a racially insensitive comment in front of the team, which included a player from Japan. Mirasolo lauded the exploits of a WWII pilot who shot down several Japanese planes.
Another assistant coach, Sydney Daniels, a former Harvard team captain (2013 to 2017), left the program following a March 2022 team meeting in which Stone told the team it had “too many Chiefs and not enough Indians.” Daniels, who is a Mistawasis First Nations member, has filed a complaint against Harvard with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination; that complaint is currently under investigation.
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Maryna Macdonald, a member of British Columbia’s Ditidaht First Nation, did not return to the team for the 2022-23 season, but remained at the school for her senior year. Thompson, who left in July 2022, is a member of Metis Nation of Alberta and Okanagan Indian Band, B.C.
For the March 10 story, The Athletic spoke to more than 30 individuals who played for Harvard or were associated with the program from this season and going back more than 20 years.
Stone was accused of downplaying injuries and mental health issues, leading derogatory chants directed at players and creating a climate where players were pitted against each other to curry favor with her. One parent of a player from a recent season, in describing how she perceived Stone ran the program, said it was “a mental-health Hunger Games.”
Other allegations included accusations of hazing within the program during an annual “Initiation Week” and “Freshmen Fun Night” as well as a yearly “Naked Skate” at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center.
Prior to the publication of the March 10 story, Stone, Mirasolo and athletic director Erin McDermott declined comment through a Harvard spokesperson.
The scope of the Jenner and Block investigation and whether the investigators will issue a formal report is unclear. The Athletic emailed a Harvard spokesperson questions about the probe. She responded: “I have no comment.”
Some players recently received an email from a Jenner and Block lawyer that stated that two investigators were planning to be on Harvard’s campus in the next few weeks and that they would like to meet individually with players to hear about their experiences in the program and gather any relevant information they wish to share.
(Photo: Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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