Chicago sued over sexual misconduct in 2010 by (now former) video coach on players + related suit

LadyStanley

Registered User
Sep 22, 2004
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Former Blackhawks player alleges he was sexually assaulted by coach - TSN.ca

Player is not publicly named in suit (John Doe). (Former) Video coach Brad Aldrich has (since) been convicted as a sexual offender (in Michigan).

...accusing the Blackhawks of ignoring allegations that he and an unidentified teammate were sexually assaulted by a Blackhawks coach.
...
The former Blackhawks player alleged that Aldrich, who no longer works for the National Hockey League franchise, also sent him “inappropriate text messages” and threatened him “physically, financially and emotionally” if he “did not engage in sexual activity.”
...
The lawsuit claims that the former Blackhawks player reported Aldrich's alleged misconduct to James F. Gary, the team’s mental skills coach.

(Minimal financial damages -- $150k -- sought.)


Concerning.
 

LadyStanley

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Sep 22, 2004
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TSN with more specifics on suit. Chicago asking for dismissal due to expiration of statute of limitations (300 days after "memory resurfaced").

And Chicago Blackhawks facing second suit brought about by (then) 17 year old victim when Aldrich received favorable referral letter allowing him to get job where he had access to abuse victim.


(A former mod reminding folks that BOH discusses the lawsuit, not the conduct that causes the suit. There's a thread in NHL Talk for that.)
 
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LadyStanley

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Sep 22, 2004
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In trying to digest this....

I have to realize this happened before the #MeToo movement and similar events/situations.

Regardless of outcome of suits, it's a negative stain on the franchise.

Blackhawks are definitely the "deep pockets" defendant in this.
 

oldunclehue

Registered User
Jun 16, 2010
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What about some of those management people that were involved with the Blackhawks at this time, and are currently employed there or with other teams. If they knew about it, did nothing about it or participated in the "sweeping under the rug" action.....they should be immediately fired.

This pathetic human being went on to sexually assault KIDS after this wasn't dealt with. HOW do PEOPLE sleep at night knowing they let him off with that.
 
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kaiser matias

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Mar 22, 2004
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I haven't paid too much attention to this, as it's still early, but from what I've read some of the Hawks management tried to keep things quiet, which is obviously not a good look, and really gives off vibes of the Penn State issues, where Paterno knew things were going down and didn't say anything. That didn't work out for Paterno or Penn State, and if this is true in Chicago, it's going to be a really bad look for the team.
 
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Acesolid

The Illusive Bettman
Sep 21, 2010
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Thanks for the news rundown LadyStanley!

This is one truly disturbing story... hopefully an independent investigation can shed light on what the heck happened.
 

mouser

Business of Hockey
Jul 13, 2006
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Geez. Just because player wasn't a minor? If he assaulted a female, would they report it?


Everything in the lawsuit is horribly bad optics for Chicago, and isn’t going to get better.

The argument by Chicago might still be legally correct on statutory obligations.

Still expect this to be eventually settled out of court.
 

tarheelhockey

Offside Review Specialist
Feb 12, 2010
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His non-answer makes it pretty obvious he knew.

Yep. That kind of answer speaks volumes about

1) There not being any plausible deniability that he knew about it, and did nothing to help his teammate
2) The continuation of that "nothing goes public" culture even to this day

Nothing has really changed since Sheldon Kennedy. It's incredibly sad.
 

tarheelhockey

Offside Review Specialist
Feb 12, 2010
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The Athletic reporting that Chicago plans to release investigation report publicly.

Minor clarification: the internal memo says they will 'share the results' publicly, which is not the same thing as releasing the report. 'Sharing the results' could be as simple as issuing a couple of paragraphs summarizing the conclusions, while withholding all the actual information.

(due credit to @vadim sharifijanov for catching this distinction, which would normally be semantic but in this case is extremely important)
 
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saintunspecified

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Nov 30, 2017
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More news



The drip drip drip of this story reminds me of of the Penn State story. I realize the extent is not the same several respects. But the way the story is coming out is, along with the details are ugly. The above article recounts what Paul Vincent, a skills coach for the Blackhawks at the time, told investigators. According to what he told investigators, everyone high in the organization knew.

The article doesn't say, but it seems reasonable to surmise that Vincent told Westhead the content of what he told investigators to ensure it wouldn't get covered up.

The fact that another Blackhawk coach told Vincent that Aldrich seemed had a seemingly inappropriate relationship with a 14 year old is particularly disturbing.
 

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