NEWSLETTER
Following the lawsuit filed against the Chicago Blackhawks stemming from a former NHL player accusing former video coach Brad Aldrich of sexual abuse, a second lawsuit is now being filed against the organization in connection to Aldrich.
According to a report from TSN’s Rick Westhead, the Blackhawks are being sued by a former Michigan high school hockey player who alleges that he was sexually abused by Aldrich in 2013 after the Blackhawks provided “positive references to future employers for Bradley Aldrich as a hockey coach despite having knowledge of his sexual assaults and failed to report Bradley Aldrich to any hockey or coaching organizations of oversight.”
From the report by Westhead:
The plaintiff, who is referred to as “John Doe (2)” in court documents, alleges that former Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich, who no longer works for the franchise, sexually assaulted him on March 6, 2013, when Aldrich was an assistant coach on a high school team in Houghton, Mich., and the plaintiff was a 16-year-old player.
The lawsuit was filed on May 26 in Cook Circuit Court in Chicago. The plaintiff is seeking damages in excess of $50,000. The Blackhawks have so far declined to comment on the situation.
You’ll remember back in mid-May, we were made aware of the first lawsuit against the Blackhawks involving former video coach Aldrich. In the first lawsuit, a former NHL player on the 2009-2010 team alleged that Aldrich sexually harassed and abused him, and that the team was made aware of the situation and did nothing to help the player or reprimand Aldrich.
In 2013, Aldrich was convicted of fourth degree criminal sexual conduct involving a student, according to Michigan’s public sex offender registry. It is unclear at this moment if this conviction is from the incident involving “John Doe (2).” In both lawsuits, the plaintiffs are being represented by Chicago lawyer Susan Loggans.
We will bring you more on this story as it develops, along with the original lawsuit as well.
