Blackhawks refused to report alleged sex abuse of players to police: source

[L K]

https://www.tsn.ca/chicago-blackhawks-alleged-sex-abuse-of-players-police-1.1656229

Ummmm WTF??

[herman]

The alleged sexual assault of two former Chicago Blackhawks players was “an open secret” among staff both within and outside the team’s hockey department, a former team marketing official said in an interview with TSN.

Story from @rwesthead: https://t.co/7Nilhffnl7 pic.twitter.com/tBQeCq7lIX

— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) June 23, 2021

[L K]

I honestly don’t know why this isn’t getting more traction as a huge story.  This potentially involves some pretty fricking huge names in hockey….three current GMs, Joel Quenneville among others who have no excuse not to have known about this and done nothing

[herman]

I honestly don’t know why this isn’t getting more traction as a huge story.  This potentially involves some pretty fricking huge names in hockey….three current GMs, Joel Quenneville among others who have no excuse not to have known about this and done nothing

The alleged sexual assault of two former Chicago Blackhawks players was “an open secret” among staff both within and outside the team’s hockey department, a former team marketing official said in an interview with TSN.

The official said he was told by Blackhawks assistant trainer Jeff Thomas during the summer of 2010 that then-team video coach Brad Aldrich had allegedly sexually assaulted two players. The official asked for anonymity because he still works in the pro hockey industry and fears repercussions from the National Hockey League.

That sort of says it all... and this with players as the victims, i.e. a position of relative power within the hockey ecosystem. Consider all the other people in an organization/venue who might cross paths who the hockey media would care even less about.

[herman]

Former Blackhawks player: ‘Every guy on the team knew’

From ⁦@MarkLazerus⁩, ⁦@ByScottPowers⁩ and me  https://t.co/Z1S3Adr8m0

— Katie Strang (@KatieJStrang) June 25, 2021

“Every guy on the team knew about it,” one player on the 2010 team told The Athletic. “Every single guy on the team knew.”

[...]

The former player who spoke with The Athletic, who was not one of the two players who disclosed Aldrich’s alleged assault to Vincent, said he recently Googled the official team photo from the morning of the parade, and sure enough, Aldrich is in it.

“That doesn’t bother me, that they let him take pictures with the Cup,” the 2010 Blackhawks player said. “What bothers me is they fired him, but they didn’t take it to the cops. … They let him get a job with a U-18 team. They let him go work with minors. They let this happen.”

[herman]

CW: Sexual Assault

Must listen interview.

Rick Westhead: "The NHL is riding, as they do, on stories like this that it'll pass. That they have enough leverage over people who cover the game that it won't be covered, it won't be talked about, people will move on." https://t.co/oezDy4JRH5

— Editor in J (@Account4hockey) June 25, 2021

Westhead casting some very overt side-eye to his colleagues.

[herman]

Original breaking story

It “took me out of the high point of my game,” the ex-Chicago Blackhawks player who suing the team told WBEZ Monday. He alleges a former assistant coach sexually assaulted him in 2010 and the Blackhawks covered it up. https://t.co/soi5mgqEK1

— Tony Arnold (@tonyjarnold) June 23, 2021

[herman]

A former Chicago Blackhawks associate coach has confirmed that a meeting took place during the 2010 NHL playoffs in which the team’s management discussed the alleged sexual assault of two Blackhawks players.

Story from @rwesthead: https://t.co/AudysKym4q pic.twitter.com/xzi29rPKqb

— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) June 26, 2021

[herman]

NEW: The Blackhawks have hired a former federal prosecutor to lead an “independent review’ of the allegations of sexual assault by former video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010 — and the alleged refusal to report it to police — according to an internal memo from CEO Danny Wirtz.

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) June 28, 2021

Reid Schar of Jenner & Block LLP is leading the review. "Mr. Schar and his firm have significant experience  conducting independent investigative reviews, have no previous ties to the Blackhawks organization, and have been directed to follow the facts wherever they lead."

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) June 28, 2021

They hired a guy from the same firm representing USA Gymnastics? Nothing to see there.

— Emmie (@emilyistootired) June 28, 2021

Yeeeeeeeeesssh

[bustaheims]

Yeah, that last one really paints what could have been the right move in a less positive light. Maybe don't hire the firm who defended the perpetrators in one of the worst sexual assault cases in U.S. history to investigate your own internal sexual assault allegations.

Investigation? Good! Definitely needed (even if it's coming years later than it should have). The investigators? Surely, you could have found someone with less of a stink on them.

[herman]

The firm hired by the Blackhawks to investigate the Brad Aldrich allegations, Jenner & Block, also represented USA Gymnastics in bankruptcy proceedings in wake of the Larry Nassar scandal.

— Katie Strang (@KatieJStrang) June 28, 2021

This is technically a clarification that it was the law firm that handled the bankruptcy claim filed as a result of a system-condoned sex assault scandal, not that they defended Nassar. This is still absolutely stepping on a rake, PR-wise. Just firing it straight into their own net, top cheddar.

[Nik]

I don't know that who they hired matters much. Just about anyone they hire would be a big corporate law firm who will only dig as deep as the Blackhawks ultimately want them to and I don't think any of us expect any sort of actual accountability here.

[herman]

A former Chicago Blackhawks player who alleges a team video coach sexually assaulted him and a teammate in 2010 says he has told his family about the abuse and is still struggling 11 years later with its long-term effects.

Story from @rwesthead: https://t.co/laz0K4jsmv pic.twitter.com/D4W3GWNIOL

— SportsCentre (@SportsCentre) June 28, 2021

[herman]

New: Former Blackhawks skills coach Paul Vincent was contacted Tues by law firm Jenner & Block, hired in June by the Chicago NHL team to investigate sexual assault allegations.
Vincent tells me he won't participate unless J&B promises in writing its findings will be public. https://t.co/GpdC8dfJhT

— Rick Westhead (@rwesthead) July 14, 2021

[CarltonTheBear]

This is one of the most self-aware quotes from a hockey player I've seen: pic.twitter.com/Sscjck2HJD

— Rachel Reid 🏒❤️ (@akaRachelReid) July 14, 2021