(TW: assault, sexual harassment)
I’ll be honest: I really thought Kyle Beach’s lawsuit against the Blackhawks in 2021 – and all subsequent reports revealed about the rot that raged beneath the Hawks’ legendary Stanley Cup runs from 2010-2015 – fans would say, “enough.” Maybe I shouldn’t have done that. That wouldn’t have happened with the bad behavior of some star players at the time, which everyone in Chicago seemed to have a story about. It didn’t happen when fans harassed journalists and forced a woman accusing a player of sexual assault to flee her hometown. But surely, surely, an independent report detailing how the Hawks covered up the alleged sexual assault of one of their AHL players by an assistant coach – that had to be the final straw for Blackhawks fans. Right?
If the number of fans flocking to the United Center to see star designer Connor Bedard and happily posting photos of their kids in Hawks jerseys on social media is any indication, this wasn’t the last straw. But now, just two years after the damning ‘Kyle Beach Report’ was released – and the Hawks and Beach reached a confidential settlement – the Hawks find themselves on the receiving end of a new lawsuit from a player, who also claims he is sexually abused by former Hawks assistant coach Brad Aldrich.
The Chicago Tribune reports this“A former member of the Chicago Blackhawks ‘Black Aces’ team and teammate of Kyle Beach has alleged in a lawsuit that former video coach Brad Aldrich ‘groomed, harassed, threatened and assaulted’ him during the 2009-2010 season and that the Hawks suppressed his complaint to protect their Stanley Cup championship.
The complaint, filed Thursday under the name John Doe in Cook County Circuit Court, contained some truly gruesome allegations, including that “Aldrich snuck into the bedroom while John Doe and (a) woman were having sex and attempted to force himself into the bedroom. meeting, during which he first made his presence known by playing with John Doe’s feet in the dark,” that Aldrich sent Doe “a text message with a photo of Coach Aldrich’s penis (which Doe allegedly showed to then-team president John McDonough’s secretary, and that, “On multiple occasions… Aldrich approached John Doe from behind, grabbed him in a hugging gesture and pressed his penis through his clothing against John Doe’s back and buttocks .”
The lawsuit further alleges that the Blackhawks organization demonstrated “utter indifference and/or conscious disregard for the safety of its employees.”
The unidentified player’s lawyers confirmed to the Tribune that their client was previously referred to as “Black Ace 1” in a independent report (the report), commissioned by the Blackhawks and conducted by law firm Jenner & Block.
The allegations in Doe’s lawsuit echo Beach’s claims. The report shows that “president of hockey operations and general manager Stan Bowman and senior vice president of hockey operations Al MacIsaac met with John McDonough, Jay Blunk, Kevin Cheveldayoff, Joel Quenneville and James Gary in May 2010 to discuss the allegations. No action was taken for three weeks after the Blackhawks won and celebrated the 2010 Stanley Cup. Beach also claimed that his teammates started use homophobic comments against him after his report on Aldrich’s attack spread.
Aldrich resigned from the team in 2010, but was still given a severance package and a playoff bonus, according to the Beach report, and his name was inscribed on the Stanley Cup along with the rest of the coaches. It lasted until 2021 that the Blackhawks requested its removal. Numerous photos of Aldrich lifting the 2010 Stanley Cup have been circulating online, long after the organization became aware of Beach’s allegations. And then there’s the fact that Aldrich’s departure was handled so quietly that he went on to coach at a high school in Michigan, where Aldrich was promptly arrested. accused of assaulting a high school student in 2013. He served nine months in jail and remains on the state’s sex offender registry. If the Hawks had taken Beach’s claims more seriously, they might have been able to prevent Aldrich from attacking anyone else.
After the Beach report, the Hawks did and said all the right things, including writing a letter to enthusiasts in October 2021 about all the ways the team would strive to get better. “What we do off the ice is just as important as everything we do on it,” the letter said. “Our ownership and leadership teams are committed to ensuring that the Blackhawks adhere to the highest ethical, professional and athletic standards.” That letter and the feelings it contained were almost completely erased by Hawk’s owner Rocky Wirtz just four months later, when he berated a reporter at a town hall meeting for asking about Beach. “We’re not going to talk about Kyle Beach,” Wirtz said angrily. ‘We’re not going to talk about what happened. Now we move on. What else do I have to say?”
Wirtz passed away in July 2023 and his son, Danny, is now chairman and CEO of the organization. But in light of the new lawsuit, the question lingers as to whether things have actually changed in the Blackhawks’ locker room, or if the team is simply waiting for the fans to forgive them again so they can put it all in the rearview mirror. mirror. The team’s response this time will be telling. And that goes for his fans too.
If you or someone you love has been a victim of sexual assault, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. Free. Confidential. 24/7.