OTTAWA — Several members of the University of Ottawa hockey team say a court filing by the school has once again smeared them through "murky and salacious" accusations.
The members are suing the university for purportedly damaging their reputations by suspending the entire hockey program in March 2014 after allegations of sexual assault surfaced.
Two other team players were later charged with sexually assaulting a female student at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont.
The university says in a statement of defence that it acted carefully and reasonably in deciding to suspend the hockey program.
In their reply, members of the class-action suit say their action is not about the power of the university to suspend a team.
Rather, it is about the school's decision to call a press conference two years ago and "tarnish the reputations of all members of the team" with unfounded allegations.