The suit claims an alleged harasser got promoted while the accuser was told to "look elsewhere"
The NHL's top HR executive is personally named in a lawsuit alleging systemic harassment, failed investigations, and coordinated blacklisting of a whistleblower.
Rose Harris, a former IT coordinator for the Anaheim Ducks and OC Sports & Entertainment, filed suit in federal court in New York on January 6, accusing the National Hockey League, the Ducks, and Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Patrice Distler of presiding over a toxic workplace culture and then punishing her for speaking up. The claims have not been proven, and no court has made any findings.
Harris says she joined the Ducks in July 2022, was promoted to IT analyst, and by all accounts performed well. But according to her account, the job came with a price: unwanted touching from a colleague in public relations, crude remarks from equipment managers who declared her "one of the boys," and a steady stream of invasive questions about her sex life. Co-workers allegedly spread false rumors about sexual encounters that never happened. Female employees, she says, were told they dressed "like a whore," while men faced no similar scrutiny. She claims she was routinely blocked from areas she was credentialed to enter and told to wait for a man's permission.
The allegations paint a troubling picture for HR professionals. Harris says that when a colleague named her as a witness in a separate harassment proceeding, she was interviewed repeatedly by Ducks and OCSE human resources. She was told her experiences were "not okay" and would be dealt with. Yet when the investigation wrapped, Harris says she was informed only that it was "more likely than not" policies had been violated, with remedies limited to coaching and training. One alleged harasser, former intern Nick Aguilera, was promoted to full-time staff rather than disciplined, she claims. HR VP Marni Bobich allegedly advised Harris that if she wanted a future in hockey operations, she should consider looking elsewhere.
Harris resigned in November 2024 and took an IT role at the NHL's New York headquarters. Within days, she says, she was assigned a routine ticket to check display-name settings in the Outlook account of Distler, the league's chief HR officer. Harris says she accessed the mailbox under temporary delegate permissions, found no issue, and moved on. Days later, she alleges, Distler accused her of hacking her email, placed her on leave, and terminated her. Harris says she never opened or read any emails.
What followed, according to Harris, was an industry-wide freeze-out. She claims the NHL, Ducks, and OCSE coordinated to block her from jobs at Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment and to prevent her rehire by the Ducks, despite a former manager's interest in bringing her back.
The lawsuit brings 20 separate claims, including harassment, retaliation, whistleblower violations, defamation, equal pay claims, and antitrust-style blacklisting allegations under federal and state law. For HR leaders, the case is a reminder that how an organization handles complaints, closes investigations, and treats departing employees can all end up under a legal microscope.
