News Article: GMBG Caught Up in Lawsuit from Pittsburgh Days

[57special]

Like it or not, Guerin is one of the main faces of the franchise, and it's acknowledged off ice leader. This is not how you want to be in the news.

 

[grN1g]

To me it feels like it would be best for BG to own it and take full responsibility for not acting. No matter how you twist it the fact that the hush statement is made is the most damaging.

You put blame on yourself and the org you were apart of at the time and take a vow to never run the wild like that learn from your past etc..

 

[HotDish]

I guess what it really boils down too is do you think BG is a bad and morally incorrect type of person who is unwilling be someone to learn from his past mistakes if this is true?

Feels like we wouldn't be defending or picking a reason to defend if this wasn't our GM. Weird situation cause I dont want BG canceled.

This day and age actions have consequences. I'm hoping he issues some type of statement and the NHL does an investigation because I think we are trending to him being let go unless information comes out that helps Guerin's case.

He can learn from his mistakes away from the team. I don't want someone that takes sexual harassment lightly to be leading the team. I'm willing to hear him out but not saying anything is just as bad as defending it. People willing to turn a blind eye to crimes are just as bad as people committing them.

On another topic and not related to your post. We need to stop this BS about protecting the attacker and stop the victim blaming in our society. It is 2020 for heaven sake.

 

[grN1g]

All true words. I guess I do have a spot to give him a chance if he can get in front of that camera and own it. Apolgize to the victim and to everyone who's ever had that abuse for not acting.

Hes running the AHL team sure but to think he's not in communication with owners his boss etc about this shady stuff and how to handle it is downright absurd.

He could have wanted to do something but was told by his bosses etc to do what he did instead. I guess that's the only side I could understand in this but again I dont feel good about wanting to defend and give a chance to someone who washed over this serious crime.

 

[ThatGuy22]

To me it feels like it would be best for BG to own it and take full responsibility for not acting. No matter how you twist it the fact that the hush statement is made is the most damaging.

You put blame on yourself and the org you were apart of at the time and take a vow to never run the wild like that learn from your past etc..

This day and age actions have consequences. I'm hoping he issues some type of statement and the NHL does an investigation because I think we are trending to him being let go unless information comes out that helps Guerin's case.

He can learn from his mistakes away from the team. I don't want someone that takes sexual harassment lightly to be leading the team. I'm willing to hear him out but not saying anything is just as bad as defending it. People willing to turn a blind eye to crimes are just as bad as people committing them.

On another topic and not related to your post. We need to stop this BS about protecting the attacker and stop the victim blaming in our society. It is 2020 for heaven sake.

The guy got fired ("resigned") within a week. He (and the penguins organization, as I doubt he was making the decisions here, probably just middleman) acted.

If the Skalde's weren't willing to file a police report, they can't come out and drag the former head coaches name through the mud.

This is literally how any company in America would do it. It's not the Penguins responsibility to prosecute the shitbag in the court of law, or public opinion. And could possibly open themselves up to legal vulnerability if they did.

 

[Webster]

Surprised Russo is silent on this, I guess he's afraid of Guerin...

 

[MuckOG]

To me it feels like it would be best for BG to own it and take full responsibility for not acting. No matter how you twist it the fact that the hush statement is made is the most damaging.

You put blame on yourself and the org you were apart of at the time and take a vow to never run the wild like that learn from your past etc..

Guerin did act. Within a week of finding out, he canned the coach. There was no criminal complaint, so this is really just a personnel matter. And I can't think of a business that would want to publicize in house personnel matters. That's just how the real world operates.

The assistant coach and his wife should've filed a criminal complaint. At that point, it becomes public knowledge.

Hes running the AHL team sure but to think he's not in communication with owners his boss etc about this shady stuff and how to handle it is downright absurd.

Who said he wasn't in communication with the owners?

 

[grN1g]

Surprised Russo is silent on this, I guess he's afraid of Guerin...

Likely to do with how muck explained it. Also this is now a legal matter, russo knows this isnt a topic you just throw out a random story on. You compile all facts and offer no speculation in the story and likely sit on it until you feel its ok to publish.

 

[Goose312]

He took the allegations seriously enough to fire an incredibly successful coach within a week, and people think him not wanting to bring focus on the organization and himself by admitting they hired an alleged predator is worth major criticism?

We don't even know what is meant by being told to stay silent because we haven't heard more than one side of the story. Asking someone to stay away from public accusations while they investigate internally is likely the standard move of every company. At worst I see this as maybe it could have been handled better, but since the accuser had no criticism of Guerin's handling until he needed to justify a whistleblower defense I don't think there was actually anything wrong with what Guerin did here.

 

[57special]

Really, the Pens caused this by letting Skaldes go. Clumsy, on their part. How much does a AHL asst. coach make? The reek of this will cost them a lot more than his salary, and no one has said that Skaldes was poor at his job. Dumb.

Leipold has to be getting a pretty bad headache right now.

 

[MuckOG]

I'm not going to take the plaintiff's lawyers spin at face value, instead I'll wait for all the facts to come in before judging the actions of Guerin or anyone else.

 

[HotDish]

Did the article get updated? I only ask because I just reread it recently and it looks like there is info that I didn't see before.

“Donatelli claimed he was too drunk to recall the events of the night in question, but six days later, he met with Jarrod Skalde and apologized,” the claim says. After Erin Skalde confronted Donatelli, the lawsuit says “Donatelli pledged to Mr. and Mrs. Skalde that he would change his ways, seek help, and come forward to the Penguins’ assistant general manager Billy Guerin about what he had done.”

When Donatelli failed to follow through with telling Guerin about his behaviour or changing his ways, Skalde alleges he reported the sexual assault to Guerin at the NHL Draft in Vancouver on June 21, 2019."

I'm not excusing him for saying be quiet because my guess is ownership didn't want it to get out to put a stink on their program, but at least it doesn't sound like he was actively sweeping it under the rug since he wasn't aware of it till later.

 

[ThatGuy22]

Did the article get updated? I only ask because I just reread it recently and it looks like there is info that I didn't see before.

“Donatelli claimed he was too drunk to recall the events of the night in question, but six days later, he met with Jarrod Skalde and apologized,” the claim says. After Erin Skalde confronted Donatelli, the lawsuit says “Donatelli pledged to Mr. and Mrs. Skalde that he would change his ways, seek help, and come forward to the Penguins’ assistant general manager Billy Guerin about what he had done.”

When Donatelli failed to follow through with telling Guerin about his behaviour or changing his ways, Skalde alleges he reported the sexual assault to Guerin at the NHL Draft in Vancouver on June 21, 2019."

I'm not excusing him for saying be quiet because my guess is ownership didn't want it to get out to put a stink on their program, but at least it doesn't sound like he was actively sweeping it under the rug since he wasn't aware of it till later.

That was all there first time I read it.

 

[GuerinUp]

Did the article get updated? I only ask because I just reread it recently and it looks like there is info that I didn't see before.

“Donatelli claimed he was too drunk to recall the events of the night in question, but six days later, he met with Jarrod Skalde and apologized,” the claim says. After Erin Skalde confronted Donatelli, the lawsuit says “Donatelli pledged to Mr. and Mrs. Skalde that he would change his ways, seek help, and come forward to the Penguins’ assistant general manager Billy Guerin about what he had done.”

When Donatelli failed to follow through with telling Guerin about his behaviour or changing his ways, Skalde alleges he reported the sexual assault to Guerin at the NHL Draft in Vancouver on June 21, 2019."

I'm not excusing him for saying be quiet because my guess is ownership didn't want it to get out to put a stink on their program, but at least it doesn't sound like he was actively sweeping it under the rug since he wasn't aware of it till later.

wasnt there when i read it originally

 

[thestonedkoala]

If I remember correctly, Guerin was head of their AHL team. I'm wondering how much Guerin knew about Donatelli's past when he hired him? Stories like this seem to follow people around.

More so, while it's quibbling over verbiage, the fact that the Penguins/Guerin let Donatelli resign instead of firing him is big. There is a major difference when the Penguins/Guerin terminates/fires a coach compared to letting a coach resign. If a coach resigns I figure that there is something going on between the coach and the team that the coach doesn't like about the team. If a team fires a coach, then I figure something big is going on with the coach than the team.

For example, if Jim Montgomery stepped down from the Stars instead of being fired, it could have been seen as a difference of an opinion. The fact that the Stars fired him made it seem like he did something really, really bad.

 

[2Pair]

I don't have a huge issue with anything that Guerin did, but I still can't see him keeping his job.

 

[DeagleJenkins]

Correct me if I’m wrong but did the article not go on to further explain the “keep quiet” comment to be about the head coach being let go rather than keep quiet about sexual assault?

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Correct me if I’m wrong but did the article not go on to further explain the “keep quiet” comment to be about the head coach being let go rather than keep quiet about sexual assault?

They’re kind of related.

 

[Wasted Talent]

Correct me if I’m wrong but did the article not go on to further explain the “keep quiet” comment to be about the head coach being let go rather than keep quiet about sexual assault?

I would assume "the incident" in the quote below refers to the sexual assault

“Guerin later advised Mr. Skalde that the Penguins were terminating Mr. Donatelli’s employment, but instructed [Jarrod] that knowledge of the incident and termination had to be suppressed, cautioning that it ‘has to stay quiet and can’t be let out,’” the lawsuit says.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Don’t see much of a problem here.

 

[Minnewildsota]

Skalde's are saying that Donatelli admitted it, and the Pens firing him within 7 days after finding out about it would indicate that they believed the incident happened.

False. If they don’t fire him, it’s bad PR. Just like telling people to keep quiet.
You’re dammed If you do and dammed if you don’t

 

[ThatGuy22]

If I remember correctly, Guerin was head of their AHL team. I'm wondering how much Guerin knew about Donatelli's past when he hired him? Stories like this seem to follow people around.

More so, while it's quibbling over verbiage, the fact that the Penguins/Guerin let Donatelli resign instead of firing him is big. There is a major difference when the Penguins/Guerin terminates/fires a coach compared to letting a coach resign. If a coach resigns I figure that there is something going on between the coach and the team that the coach doesn't like about the team. If a team fires a coach, then I figure something big is going on with the coach than the team.

For example, if Jim Montgomery stepped down from the Stars instead of being fired, it could have been seen as a difference of an opinion. The fact that the Stars fired him made it seem like he did something really, really bad.

It's possible Donatelli resigned while their investigation into it was on going, before being given a chance to be fired.

 

[57special]

It is extremely common to ask for someone's resignation, with the understanding being that if they don't, they'll be fired.

 

[2Pair]

Don’t see much of a problem here.

Would you hire Donatelli to coach your daughters hockey team?

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Would you hire Donatelli to coach your daughters hockey team?

Obviously not what I meant.

Referring to Guerin’s part.