I’m not here to talk about their embarrassing 0-7-2 start to the season. No, I’m here to talk about what we all should be addressing right now: the horrific failure of the Chicago Blackhawks organization to act on allegations of sexual assault. I don’t care if you think there’s enough coverage or that this has been talked about too much; frankly, there cannot be enough coverage nor will it be talked about too much. As a society at large, we need to talk about sexual assault more, and in hockey culture, you can multiply that need by at least a thousand. So let’s get it out in the open.
Background
The Report & Disclaimer
I’ll try to summarize as best as possible, but there is quite a lot of information necessary to fully understand the entirety of the situation. For those who want to know more of the nitty-gritty details, here’s the report from Chicago law firm Jenner & Block who was tasked with investigating the incident. The report does not mince words, so if you are sensitive to the details of sexual assault, skip it. I’ll be quoting non-graphic sections of it from here on out.
The “John Doe” Incident
This story begins in 2008 when a young man was picked 11th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL draft. It really picks up in 2010 when that young man was called up to Chicago to be a Black Ace in the city’s run for the Stanley Cup.
Per the Black Ace’s report, on May 8 or 9, 2010, he was invited to Blackhawks’ video coach Brad Aldrich’s apartment. There, the Ace was threatened to have his career ruined and be physically harmed if he did not comply with sexual acts with Aldrich.
The Outcry & Response
The Ace confided in a third party unaffiliated with the Blackhawks a week later that the encounter was entirely nonconsensual. According to the Jenner & Block report, Senior Director of Hockey Administration Al McIsaac was notified about this on May 23 by skating coach Paul Vincent and tasked Jim Gary, the team’s mental skills coach, to investigate that same day.
That same day, May 23, Gary notified McIsaac, as well as then-president John McDonough, GM Stan Bowman, then-Executive VP Jay Blunk, then-assistant GM Kevin Cheveldayoff, and then-head coach Joel Quenneville of the limited, “troubling” details of the incident he learned from the Black Ace. From the report,
Bowman recalled that during the meeting, McDonough and Quenneville made comments about the challenge of getting to the Stanley Cup Finals and a desire to focus on the team and the playoffs. Several years later, MacIsaac, in discussing the situation between Aldrich and John Doe with another Blackhawks employee, stated that McDonough did not want any negative publicity during the Stanley Cup Finals. (pg 5)
It was then decided that McDonough, who was the most senior member, would decide “how to handle” the situation. “We found no evidence that any action was taken to address the issue until after the playoffs ended,” the report states on page 6.
Long story slightly shorter, the Blackhawks went on to win the Stanley Cup on June 9 without any further movement on the issue. Human Resources was not notified about anything until June 14. HR met with Aldrich on June 16 and gave him the ultimatum to resign or face an investigation. Aldrich chose to resign, but was afforded “severance and a playoff bonus, and continued to be paid a salary for several months. He was permitted to host the Stanley Cup for a day in his hometown, his name was engraved on the Stanley Cup, he received a championship ring” (pg 6). Aldrich went on to work with organizations such as USA Hockey, the University of Notre Dame, Miami University (Ohio), and a Michigan high school hockey program. While at the high school in 2013, “Aldrich was arrested and pled guilty to fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a minor” (pg 7).
The Black Ace Known as “John Doe”
It’s important to know that the Black Ace referenced above bravely revealed himself this week as Kyle Beach. Beach gave a remote interview with Rick Westford from TSN on Wednesday about the incident. It’s difficult to watch, as the pain is evident but worth it.
Other Blackhawks Involved
For those of you keeping score at home, we’re up to 8 people with knowledge of the allegation so far. But the deeper into the report you get, the more people you realize knew, as well.
The Grapevine
According to Paul Vincent, he asked the Black Ace directly after seeing something was off about him and noted having heard “something through the grapevine” (pg 39). “The grapevine” can have many interpretations, but the most obvious conclusion is that the ‘grapevine’ was teammates and potentially coaching staff. In Beach’s interview, he confirms that his teammates did, in fact, know and that word travelled fast. Statements by Brent Sopel and Nick Boynton back this up. He also said there were homophobic comments made in his direction and he was bullied by some Blackhawks players. Jonathan Toews, who was still captain at the time of the incident, denies any knowledge until the 2010-11 training camp; “It’s not an excuse looking back, but the truth is a lot of us were focused on just playing hockey.”
Black Ace 1 & Employee A
Also included in the report is Aldrich’s interactions with another player referenced as “Black Ace 1”. Though Black Ace 1 denies any sexual contact with Aldrich, he does confirm explicit text messages sent from Aldrich, including an unsolicited photograph of his genitalia. Black Ace 1 and a Blackhawks front office employee, referred to as “Employee A” were close, and Employee A was with Black Ace 1 when he received the picture. “Black Ace 1 recalled that Employee A pushed him to tell someone about the text from Aldrich, believing that the text was inappropriate and especially so coming from a coach to a player” (pg 37).
The Intern
It turns out that Beach and Black Ace 1 were not the only ones in the organization to be on the receiving end of unwanted advances. A front office paid intern, a 22-year-old man, recounted a taxi ride with Aldrich to investigators. The intern stated that when sharing a taxi home with Aldrich after a night out, Aldrich asked him up to his apartment for a drink, to which he said “no.” Aldrich asked him again with the same answer, then placed a hand on the intern’s “crotch” and asked him again, implying a sexual motive. The intern said he told 4 other employees at the time, and at least 5 heard about it afterward. He did not report it to HR, as Aldrich apologized, calling it a drunken mistake; the intern stated he felt bad that Aldrich was a closeted gay man and didn’t want to make the situation worse. (For the in-depth story, see pages 57-58 of the report.)
This Weeks’ Events
Tuesday, 10/26
The NHL is quick to respond to the findings of the report. They issue the Chicago Blackhawks organization a $2mil fine for their “inadequate internal procedures and insufficient and untimely response in the handling of matters.” The Blackhawks are also quick to respond to the findings. Owner Rocky Wirtz and CEO Danny Wirtz announce the resignation of GM Stan Bowman. (It’s worth noting that despite saying the report was, “both disturbing and difficult to read,” Danny Wirtz also called Bowman’s inaction a “mistake.” [Yikes.])
Al McIsaac also leaves the Blackhawks with far less fanfare.
League Commissioner Gary Bettman announces his intention to meet with Joel Quenneville and Kevin Cheveldayoff later in the week.
Wednesday, 10/27
A meeting between Bettman and Quenneville is announced to be held Thursday, 10/28. Quenneville then proceeds to coach the Florida Panthers that evening; they won 4-1 against the Boston Bruins. (It’s worth noting that when players have an in-person hearing scheduled, they are ineligible to play until after said hearing.)
Thursday, 10/28
Joel Quenneville resigns as head coach of the Panthers hours after his in-person hearing with Commissioner Bettman.
An in-person hearing with Kevin Cheveldayoff, GM of the Winnipeg Jets, is announced for Friday, 10/29.
Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz writes a letter to Larry McDonald, Chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame, requesting that Brad Aldrich’s name be removed from the Stanley Cup.
Friday, 10/29
Hours after making the letter from Wirtz to McDonald public, it is announced that Aldrich’s name would be removed from the Stanley Cup.
The NHL reports that they will not discipline Kevin Cheveldayoff.
Commissioner Bettman meets with Kyle Beach to discuss better ways of handling sexual assault.
Failure at Every Level Within the Blackhawks
There’s a common word through many of the articles I’ve linked: “failed.” Bettman said it, NHLPA leader Donald Fehr said it, the report says it a few times. There’s absolutely no denying that Kyle Beach was failed. If you haven’t been able to figure out how catastrophic that failure truly was, allow me to break it down for you.
Management
It may seem that the 4 men in high-level management are easy targets. But any way you slice it, these men were ultimately responsible for what was and was not done within the Blackhawks organization in May and June 2010. 3 of them gave the explanation that the final decision was up to McDonough, as he was the highest in command among them.
I cannot stress enough how absolutely ludicrous that statement is.
While I can understand not wanting to upset the status quo, sexual assault is not something to “pass the buck” on. I can understand the passionate desire to win the Stanley Cup, to want to focus on that, but sexual assault is more important than the Stanley Cup. If that isn’t wholly understood, there is a massive problem within management.
Arguably the most important role of management is asset protection. How is your 11th overall draft pick not a huge asset? How is any player within your organization not an asset? Are they not worth protecting?
What I’m getting at here is that in this instance, these 4 men determined that a trophy and a 27-year-old video coach were more important than the safety of a player. Any of those 3 lower men could have circumvented McDonough and gone straight to Bettman, the NHL’s human resources department, or even the NHLPA. They chose not to.
And while many of them have made statements, the biggest culprit of them all has yet to say a word. As of Saturday, 10/30, John McDonough has not spoken publicly about the incident. He was fired from the organization in 2020 for unrelated reasons, but that does not absolve him of guilt in the slightest. The man with the reputation of being ruthless has shown his true colors as a coward.
Coaching
Aldrich
I don’t feel I have to explain this one, but I’ll do it anyway. A person in a position of authority does not have permission to abuse that power. Brad Aldrich had no right to act the way he did to anyone in the Blackhawks organization, let alone a player. In addition, he felt comfortable enough in his role that he was not afraid of the potential repercussions of his actions. That’s a failure of the coaching system as a whole.
Vincent
In my eyes, Paul Vincent did the right thing up to a point. He reported it to someone he thought would do the right thing, which was good. Vincent directed Beach to someone he thought could help. But it seems that he let it go. Again, I realize how difficult it can be to undermine authority, but once he realized nothing was being done, he should have circumvented management. He could have gone to the Blackhawks’ HR department, at the very least.
Quenneville
One of the most disgusting parts of this whole thing, in my opinion, is Joel Quenneville’s involvement. At least 2 people cited in the official report that, when presented with the situation, Quenneville was upset at the idea of upsetting team chemistry or taking the focus off the Stanley Cup. It’s confirmed by those 2 people that Quenneville agreed with McDonough’s decision to delay dealing with it until after the Finals. Note that those 2 people do not include Beach himself, who stated that there were multiple meetings held in Quenneville’s office on the matter.
That, in itself, is morally reprehensible. But it gets even more disgusting. According to ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, before the report was published Quenneville “had previously said he only learned of the allegations in the summer of 2021 ‘through the media.’” That is now so clearly a lie, it’s sickening. Not only did he fail to act, but he actively tried to cover up that he failed to act. Not only is that a flaw in his management skills, but also his humanity.
Team
While I don’t hold the Blackhawks players as responsible as coaches and management, there are still many, many ways Beach’s teammates failed him. In the last few days, I have lost all respect for Jonathan Toews and what grudging respect I had for Patrick Kane.
Beach states that there were homophobic slurs and jokes thrown around in the aftermath of Beach reporting the abuse. There’s a photo of Toews and Kane in the Blackhawks locker room holding the Stanley Cup in front of a whiteboard with a homophobic joke on it. According to the report, “Black Ace 1 also recalled an incident in approximately 2014 when he was chased around the ice by a former Blackhawks player who called Black Ace 1 a ‘[expletive]’ and asked if Black Ace 1 ‘liked that blow job or what?’”
Captain
And yet Jonathan Toews denies any knowledge. Again, I find this ludicrous. Does Toews really expect me to believe that he, as captain of the 2010 Blackhawks, had no idea that one of his players had potentially been assaulted by a coach? The implications of that are insane to me. If he truly didn’t know, that would make him the absolute worst captain in history. Captains need to know what’s going on within the team, the interpersonal dynamics, all of the drama, so they can lead effectively. If he had no knowledge, he’s painting himself as one of the most obtuse, oblivious, and dumbest captains of all time.
Alternatively, if he had knowledge (which, if you couldn’t tell, I believe to be false), he fundamentally failed as a captain and as a human being. Even if Beach wasn’t a core player on the team, he was someone who was poised to step in, meaning he had value. A captain’s job is to rally the team, keep morale up, say the things that need to be said, no matter how difficult. If he had knowledge of the sexual abuse of one of his teammates, he had an obligation not only to speak with the player but to demand something be done about it. And he didn’t.
In either case, he is a failure.
Judicial
All of these failures snowballed over the next 3 years until the ultimate failure. When Aldrich plead guilty to “fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a minor,” he was only sentenced to 9 months in prison and 5 years probation. So not only did all of the failures of the Blackhawks (top to bottom) result in a mere 9 months of jail time, but it resulted in a 16-year-old boy being assaulted. A literal child was sexually abused by a man who could have been arrested 3 years prior for a similar crime, had someone in the Blackhawks organization only taken stronger action.
In his interview with TSN, Beach was asked what he would say to that 16-year-old boy, given the chance. Beach broke down. He apologized profusely, clearly feeling guilty for not stopping Aldrich back in 2010. What I don’t think he realizes is that it’s not his fault at all; Beach reported the assault within days. That’s exactly what he should have done. The fact that at least a dozen people with more authority than him failed to do the right thing does not fall on Beach at all.
Hockey Culture
In recent years, people have finally started addressing the toxicity that exists in hockey culture. Still, there are people blind to it. For those people, this is exactly what we mean when we say hockey culture is toxic and needs to change. The fact that so many were OK with letting someone suffer through sexual assault and its aftermath without so much as an acknowledgment that it happened. The fact that in response to a survivor speaking out about their abuse, fellow players thought it appropriate and wholly acceptable to taunt and mock that player; that other players allowed that to happen.
If you don’t think any of that is wrong, you are the problem.
As horrific and disgusting as this ordeal is, if there’s one good thing to come from it, I hope that it sparks a culture change. It’s time that hockey culture stops valuing a game over human life.
Final Thoughts
It’s going to take a lifetime of therapy to work through the damage that the Blackhawks as an organization caused, not only for Beach but for Black Ace 1 and for the 16-year-old boy from Michigan. Whatever comes out of the lawsuits could never be enough to cover what’s been lost. Beach lost more than an NHL career in 2010; he fell into substance addictions that could have taken his life. We don’t know what happened to the boy from Michigan, but I hope he got the support he needed and doesn’t have to rely on substances.
There are so many more things I could say about the Blackhawks, about this situation, and more. But I think ending it here with resources and positivity is best. For more information on abuse and sexual violence please visit the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network website. If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse, please call RAINN’s hotline at 1-800-656-4673. To help support RAINN and remind people there’s more to life than hockey, consider purchasing a “Winning the cup isn’t everything” t-shirt from Bring Hockey Back; all net proceeds are donated to RAINN. And if you would like to read more about sexual assault in the NHL, here’s my piece on Jake Virtanen.
Image from Darryl Wolski via Twitter.
-Heidi Thomas (@DamselOnDrums)
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