NEWSLETTER
In the developing story of the sexual abuse and harassment allegations against former Chicago Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich, a new report suggest that players on the 2010 Stanley Cup-winning team – perhaps every player – knew of the alleged abuse of two players on the team.
Katie Strang, Mark Lazerus, and Scott Powers of The Athletic report that a former player on the 2010 team indicated every player would come to find out about the allegations against Aldrich during the Western Conference Finals round of the playoffs that year against the San Jose Sharks.
It was then, at the team hotel and local bars, that word spread among the players that two teammates had accused video coach Brad Aldrich of sexual assault, alleging that he got them drunk and tried to perform oral sex on them.
“Every guy on the team knew about it,” one player on the 2010 team told The Athletic. “Every single guy on the team knew.”
Aldrich has been accused of sexually assaulting and harassing two unnamed former players on the Blackhawks 2009-2010 team. A second lawsuit has been filed against the Blackhawks organization, alleging that the Blackhawks had knowledge of the incident in 2010, yet still gave Aldrich positive recommendations for future employment, which helped him join future college and high school hockey programs after leaving the team in 2010. There are also allegations against the Blackhawks that team management knew about the abuse allegations during the 2010 postseason after team skills coach Paul Vincent met with Stan Bowman, John McDonough, Al MacIsaac, and James Gary, and did not report Aldrich to the Chicago Police. New developments this week suggest that the incidents involving the former players and Aldrich were an “open secret” around the organization.
Further new information from the report by Strang, Lazerus, and Powers:
Another player on that 2010 Chicago team, Nick Boynton, said Vincent made it clear to players during the San Jose series that he would alert upper management about the allegations. Boynton said players trusted that Vincent would handle the matter appropriately given his background — he was previously in law enforcement — and Boynton believes Vincent’s account that he told his superiors that they needed to go to police. “I trust (Vincent) over the front office,” Boynton said. “He’s a stand-up guy.”
Read the full Athletic report for more on the entire history. It is an increasingly awful story.
Boynton’s story backs up the previous report that Vincent had a meeting with the high-ranking front office members. But with the allegations going unreported to the proper authorities, Aldrich stayed with the team through the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs and enjoyed the run that Chicago had to winning the Cup against the Flyers. He left the team in 2010, but according to the report, the Blackhawks would not disclose the reasons behind him leaving.
Also according to the report from The Athletic, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement to them that the NHL has been in contact with the Blackhawks regarding the matter, but that an official investigation into the allegations against the team and Aldrich has not been opened at this time.
Tip of the hat to the continued investigating and reporting on these incidents from Katie Strang, Mark Lazerus, and Scott Powers of The Athletic, as well as Dave McKinney and Tony Arnold of WBEZ, and Rick Westhead of TSN.
