Blackhawks GM resigns, team fined after sexual assault probe
CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks mishandled allegations that an assistant coach sexually assaulted a player during the team’s Stanley Cup run in 2010, according to an investigation commissioned by the franchise that cast a shadow over the NHL on Tuesday.
Stan Bowman, Chicago’s general manager and president of hockey operations, resigned in the wake of the findings by an outside law firm, and the NHL fined the team $2 million for “the organization’s inadequate internal procedures and insufficient and untimely response.” Al MacIsaac, one of the team’s top hockey executives, also is out.
Florida Panthers coach Joel Quenneville and Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin
Cheveldayoff, who were with the Blackhawks when the sexual assault allegations were first reported, were named in the damning report as well.
The Panthers declined to comment, citing NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman’s plans to meet with Quenneville. Cheveldayoff said he shared everything he knows with Jenner & Block for its report.
“Further, I look forward to my discussion with Commissioner Bettman at the soonest possible date to continue to cooperate fully with the National Hockey League,” Cheveldayoff said in a statement provided by the Jets to AP. “I will reserve any further comment until after that conversation has been conducted.”
The Blackhawks hired Jenner & Block to conduct what they called an independent review in response to two lawsuits filed against the franchise: one by a player identified as John Doe alleging sexual assault by then-assistant coach Brad Aldrich in 2010 and another filed by a former student whom Aldrich was convicted of assaulting in Michigan.
The report, which team CEO Danny Wirtz called “both disturbing and difficult to read,” was released by the franchise. Former federal prosecutor Reid Schar, who led the investigation, said the firm found no evidence that Wirtz or his father, Rocky, who owns the team, were aware of the allegations before the former player’s lawsuit was brought to their attention ahead of its filing.
In a statement released through his attorney, Susan Loggans, John Doe said he was “grateful for the accountability” shown by the Blackhawks.
“Although nothing can truly change the detriment to my life over the past decade because of the actions of one man inside the Blackhawks organization, I am very grateful to have the truth be recognized, and I look forward to continuing the long journey to recovery,” John Doe said.
Danny Wirtz said he has instructed the organization’s lawyers to try to “reach a fair resolution consistent with the totality of the circumstances.” But Loggans said there hadn’t been any settlement talks.
Bowman, the son of Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman, said he was stepping aside because he didn’t want to be a distraction. He also resigned his position as GM of the U.S men’s hockey team at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
According to the report, the encounter between John Doe, then 20, and Aldrich, then 27, occurred on May 8 or 9 in 2010. Doe told investigators that Aldrich threatened him with a souvenir baseball bat before forcibly performing oral sex on him and masturbating on the player’s back, allegations that he also detailed in a lawsuit. Aldrich told investigators the encounter was consensual.
On May 23, right after Chicago advanced to the Stanley Cup Final, Bowman, MacIsaac, former team president John McDonough, former executive vice president Jay Blunk and then-assistant general manager Cheveldayoff met with then-coach Quenneville and mental skills coach Jim Gary to discuss the allegations. (McDonough and Blunk are no longer employed in the NHL.)
“What is clear is that after being informed of Aldrich’s alleged sexual harassment and misconduct with a player no action was taken for three weeks,” Schar said.