NEWSLETTER
If you thought the alleged sexual assault of two members of the Chicago Blackhawks by a former assistant coach during the 2009-10 season couldn’t get any worse, I’m sorry to tell you that it has.
According to TSN’s Rick Westhead, Chicago Blackhawks upper management members Al MacIsaac, John McDonough, Stan Bowman, and team sports psychologist James Gary were alerted to the alleged incident involving two former members of the Blackhawks team and former video coach Brad Aldrich by team skills coach Paul Vincent. According to “a person familiar with the matter,” Vincent told the members of management in a private meeting in May of 2010, during the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup Playoff run, and requested that the team file a police report with the Chicago sex crimes division.
That request was denied by the team executives.
Blackhawks management allegedly refused to file a report to police during the 2010 playoffs after two players claimed a video coach with the franchise had sexually assaulted them, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Story from @rwesthead: https://t.co/gBI56MAceR pic.twitter.com/gkcVNceXJD
— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) June 17, 2021
More from Westhead’s report:
TSN has identified the players but has a policy of not reporting the names of alleged sexual abuse victims without their permission.
The plaintiff, who is referred to as “John Doe” in court documents, alleged that Aldrich, who no longer works for the Blackhawks, also sent him “inappropriate text messages” and threatened him “physically, financially and emotionally” if he “did not engage in sexual activity.”
After the lawsuit was filed, TSN was contacted by a person familiar with the players’ decision to report the alleged incident to team management and a subsequent management meeting in which a plea to contact police was denied.
Susan Loggans, a lawyer for the plaintiff, says that the allegation of the denial for the police to get involved by Blackhawks management is consistent with what she has been told by an independent witness in the case, which she plans to call to testify on the matter, according to the report.
This comes after the original report from WBEZ that alleges team sports psychologist James Gray was alerted by the players of the sexual assault and harassment by Aldrich, but did not report it and actually turned the incident against the players, saying the assault and harassment was their fault. It also comes after a second lawsuit involving Aldrich has been brought on the Blackhawks, alleging the team’s knowledge of the incident and Aldrich’s past, and still giving him “positive references to future employers” after he left the team.
The Blackhawks have declined to comment on the matter at this time.
