Parents of Warroad hockey players retract accusations against coach amid defamation lawsuit

WARROAD, Minn. — A championship high school girls hockey coach can breathe a sigh of relief, after parents admitted to lying about him.

It took a lawsuit to get to the bottom of the untrue claims.

Coming off the heels of a state championship in 2022, the Warroad girls hockey program had a dark cloud hanging over it after six parents of current and former players accused head coach David Marvin of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. 

In November of last year, Marvin filed a defamation lawsuit against those parents saying they were "baseless allegations, wild fabrications and false statements."

On Wednesday, the six defendants admitted to the district court that their allegations were untrue. 

The false claims about coach Marvin were first written in a letter to the Warroad school district.

Five of the parents gave public statements saying similarly in part, "The letter contained untrue statements accusing Marvin of criminal activity, sexual harassment, and other wrongful conduct. [We] regret signing the letter  and regret any impact [our actions] had on Coach Marvin's reputation or the Warroad Girls Hockey Program."

One parent is paying Marvin $17,000 in damages. Four other parents are donating $5,000 in Marvin's name to Sophie's Squad. It's a charity that aims to improve mental health in young athletes.

WCCO reached out the Warroad Public Schools Superintendent Shawn Yates, who said on the record over the phone: "I'm really happy with this result and I'm looking forward to moving forward."

Yates says he expects Marvin to continue to coach the girls hockey team this upcoming school year.

The parents also agreed to remove all social media posts with the defamatory claims about Marvin.