Hockey Doc charged with sexual assault faced a similar allegation years ago. How was he able to keep working with players?

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Last month, Dr. Zvi Levran was charged with seven counts of criminal sexual conduct in Oakland County, Mich., after a 19-year-old male hockey player told police that on Oct. 18 he was sexually assaulted by Levran, a urologist, during a medical examination in Levrans basement office of his Farmington Hills home. Levran pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on Oct. 22.

Levran, 66, is well-known in suburban Detroit hockey circles where he was referred to as the Hockey Doc or Doc. He worked as a volunteer with high school hockey programs, including those in Farmington and Novi, off and on for nearly two decades, and he also helped with the Michigan Developmental Hockey League, which runs prior to the high school season. The MDHL puts together a select team of elite performers known as Team Michigan for a USA Hockey-affiliated event in Minnesota, and Levran has traveled with the team and served as an on-site physician.

Levran performed physical examinations, treated injuries and offered soft tissue massages to players. The 19-year-old who was allegedly assaulted went to see Levran for medical treatment. News of Levrans arrest jolted the insular Michigan hockey community. Asked about the response from the public, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said: I would classify it as widespread. I want to be very careful. These are allegations, nothing more. Theres been no conviction here and hes presumed innocent but, based on the evidence and the amount of people that have contacted law enforcement and our office and the amount of players and individuals (who) were in contact (with Levran), were very concerned.

Michigan isn’t the only state where Levran worked as a hockey team doctor. From 2011 to 2018, he lived in Fergus Falls, Minn., and for a time worked as a volunteer doctor treating players at Fergus Falls High. But he stopped working with athletes there in December 2017, The Athletic has learned, after a 16-year-old male hockey player talked about being sexually assaulted by Levran during an examination.

The player who made the allegation told The Athletic that he went to see Levran for a shoulder injury and that, after examining the players shoulder, Levran reached down his pants. While I was there, he took an opportunity to group my genitalia, said the player, who is not being identified by The Athletics policy to not name sexual assault victims without their consent. It was super random; it was super strange. I had a shoulder injury there was no reason (for him to do that).

At least one official at the Fergus Falls School District and individuals at Lake Region Medical Group Levrans employer became aware of the alleged sexual assault. Yet local law enforcement agencies and the counties human services department said they have no record of any complaints or reports filed about Levran beyond traffic incidents. And officials at Fergus Falls Schools and Lake Region Medical Group either declined to comment, citing privacy laws, or were vague in response to questions about how they handled the alleged incident.

It does not appear, based on interviews with players and others around the Fergus Falls program, that a wide investigation into Levrans interactions with players in Fergus Falls was conducted. Had that occurred, former players told The Athletic, it might have revealed other examples of alleged misconduct by Levran, including another instance when a second male player says he went to see Levran for a shoulder injury and had his genitalia touched.

Wed joke about it on the team, the second player told The Athletic. Go in for a shoulder (injury) and have your balls checked.

In both Fergus Falls and Michigan, Levran was viewed as an eccentric who was eager to be accepted among the teenagers in the locker room. One year in Minnesota, players said Levran hosted a team bonding event at his home. According to one player, that party included a power yoga session that their coach attended. The boys also swam in Levrans pool and he ordered them pizza. That player said he doesnt remember anything outside the norm, besides some unique flourishes in Levrans house.

There was leopard print everywhere, and a massage table, the player said.

Levran sometimes advised players on the trajectory of their hockey careers and extolled the virtues of yoga and meditation. Two players in Minnesota said Levran suggested that weekly yoga sessions should be performed in their underwear. He also tried to relate to players by joking about girls and sex, which some found humorous and others off-putting.

There was a lot of conversations that, as high school boys, we thought was kind of funny, one player from Fergus Falls said, adding that Levran used to make sexual references and talk about the male G-Spot.

We were in over our heads and didnt realize it at the time, the player said. It just became normal.

Levran was known for his enthusiastic use of the topical analgesic cream Tiger Balm, rubbing it on players. Levran also offered soft tissue massages to players, though he does not hold a license as a massage therapist nor as an athletic trainer. Levran holds a license as a medical doctor, according to Minnesota and Michigan state licensing databases. According to his attorney, he is also a certified yoga instructor.

In 2017, when he was in his junior year, the first Fergus Falls High player who spoke to The Athletic said he went to Levran for a shoulder injury. In the days following the alleged sexual assault, the player was in the training room with a teammate and told his teammate what had occurred. That conversation was overheard by Todd Grothe, a trainer who, like Levran, was employed by Lake Region Medical Group. When reached by phone, Grothe said that he reported the conversation to someone but would not say who and referred all questions by The Athletic to Lake Region Medical Group and the Fergus Falls School District.

The day after Grothe overheard that conversation in the trainers room, the player who Levran allegedly assaulted said he was called to his schools administrative offices and questioned about his visit with the doctor. The player said he shared with a school official what had happened and that he felt the incident was creepy. The player couldnt be certain who questioned him, saying he was one of two school officials. The Athletic contacted both administrators; one said he had no memory of meeting with the player; the other said he was not at liberty to discuss the details. The player said neither of his parents attended the meeting.

I was unhappy about the school bringing my son my 16-year-old son down to talk about this without notifying me of the issue at all beforehand, said the players father.

Under Minnesota statute, most school officials and healthcare workers are considered mandatory reporters and obligated to notify law enforcement or local county social services in the event of suspected sexual abuse involving a minor (reports are then cross-reported, meaning whichever entity receives the report then notify the other, according to a county official).

Current superintendent Jeff Drake confirmed that Levran was a volunteer for the district for a period of time ending on December 13, 2017 but declined to answer a number of questions about the schools response to the allegation against Levran. I cannot comment on matters involving students due to state and federal data privacy laws, he said. Jerry Ness, the acting superintendent during the 2017-18 school year, referred all questions to Drake and hung up the phone.

Lake Region Medical Group, when initially asked about the handling of the allegation against Levran, said in a statement that beyond confirmation of Levrans employment dates, Lake Region Medical Group and Lake Region Healthcare do not comment on personnel matters.

Asked later about Grothes reporting of the conversation he overheard, Lake Region Medical Group sent a follow-up statement: Todd Grothe reported concerns he observed while Dr. Levran was volunteering for the local high school hockey program to his direct supervisor. Lake Region Healthcare and Lake Region Medical Group take all such reports very seriously and the matter was escalated appropriately and immediately. We consulted with local authorities and undertook a thorough investigation, and after completed and reviewed, appropriate action was taken.

The Fergus Falls Police Department has no records pertaining to Levran, save for a traffic warning in 2016. Otter Tail County Sheriffs Department has no records pertaining to misconduct but Levran was issued a traffic warning in 2012 and a traffic citation in 2014. Otter Tail County Human Services had no relevant records to produce.

When asked to clarify which local authorities were consulted, Lake Region Medical Group spokesperson Katie Johnson said the organization didnt have anything further to provide at this time.

Multiple hockey players said that not long after the school became aware of the allegation against Levran, he stopped working with the program. The player Levran allegedly assaulted said he declined to pursue criminal charges because he found recounting the details of what happened embarrassing. He added that he initially felt guilty that his disclosure had prompted Levrans exit but said teammates later shared similar experiences with the doctor.

Another player told The Athletic that he also went to see Levran in 2017 to get his shoulder examined. During that visit, Levran asked him to remove his pants and felt his testicles. The player said Levran told him he was just doing a check-up while he was there. That player never reported the incident to a school official but talked about it with other players on the team.

The more we grew up and the more Ive talked about it in (my) college years, the more its like Oh, no, that was really weird. He probably should have been gone a lot earlier, the player said.

Levrans attorney, Joseph Lavigne, when asked about the new allegations against his client, said he had no knowledge of any incidents involving players in Minnesota nor any knowledge about the end of Levrans employment with the Lake Region Medical Group. Levran, a native of Israel, is currently out on bond and had to surrender his passport.

After leaving Fergus Falls, Levran returned to Michigan and opened his private practice. He had previously worked as a volunteer assistant with Farmingtons team (he began when his son, a goaltender, made the team in 2002), and he returned to working with local hockey players. He was known for hosting drop-in skates for players on Friday nights, renting ice time with his own money so players could refine their skills.

A lot of people know about Docs skates, Levran said in the 2007 news article in Hockey Weekly. He added that he volunteered with so many youth programs as a service to the community.

Everything I do is for the kids so they can play hockey and have fun with it, Levran said.

In a statement provided to The Athletic last week, Novi Schools superintendent Benjamin Mainka said that Levran was never an employee with the district, only a volunteer, and that his background check was current and in compliance at the time of his arrest. The school district has initiated an investigation into Levrans interactions with student athletes to ensure that they have not been treated inappropriately in any way.

Asked whether anyone from the Fergus Falls School District or Lake Region Medical Group notified Novi Schools of any complaints against Levran, a Novi Schools spokesperson said they did not.

(Illustration: Sean Reilly/The Athletic)

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