TRAIKOS: Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman — and many others — knew of sexual assault and did nothing

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They knew. They knew and did nothing.

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Worse, they might have tried to cowl it up.

That was maybe probably the most damning — if not disgusting — piece of data that got here out of an unbiased investigation into decade-old sexual-assault allegations involving Chicago Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich and an unnamed prospect who was a part of the staff’s apply squad throughout its 2010 Stanley Cup run.

The small print of the report, in keeping with Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz, had been “each disturbing and troublesome to learn.”

A younger participant, who was making an attempt to interrupt into the NHL, was befriended by the staff’s video coach. One night time through the playoffs, the participant was invited to the coach’s condo. That they had dinner and drinks and began to observe TV. At one level, the coach placed on a pornographic movie. Sexual advances had been made. Aldrich stated it was consensual. The participant, who stated it was not, tried to refuse. He punched Aldrich within the face. Aldrich then grabbed a baseball bat and reportedly stated, “When you don’t lay down and act such as you get pleasure from it, I’ll be sure to by no means play within the NHL or stroll once more.”

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There was extra. The participant’s account is detailed and graphic.

A complete of 139 individuals, together with previous and present gamers, executives, coaches, and different staff of the Blackhawks and their minor-league affiliate, had been interviewed a number of instances.

Stan Bowman, who “stepped apart” as normal supervisor of the Blackhawks and the U.S. males’s Olympic staff on Tuesday, heard a model of this on the time when it occurred. And did nothing. Then-head coach Joel Quenneville, who’s now teaching in Florida, knew and did nothing. Then-assistant GM Kevin Cheveldayoff, who’s now the GM in Winnipeg and advised reporters in July that he “had no data of any allegations,” knew and did nothing.

The listing of the complicit goes on and on. They need to be ashamed.

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How might they keep silent when advised that one among their gamers had not solely accused a coach of sexual assault, but in addition threatened to break the participant’s profession if he didn’t associate with it? How might they permit this to occur? Extra importantly, how might sit again and permit it to proceed to occur?

The reply needed to do with timing. And the price of profitable.

The day that everybody discovered concerning the allegations was the identical day that Chicago had punched its ticket to the Stanley Cup last, in what could be its first of three championships in a six-year span. Apparently, everybody agreed that this allegation threatened to distract from that aim.

“Bowman recalled that through the assembly, (then-president John) McDonough and Quenneville made feedback concerning the problem of attending to the Stanley Cup Finals and a want to give attention to the staff and the playoffs,” stated lead investigator Reid Schar of Jenner & Block LLP. “A number of years later, (senior director of hockey administration Al) MacIsaac, in discussing the state of affairs between Aldrich and John Doe with one other Blackhawks worker, acknowledged that McDonough didn’t need any adverse publicity through the Stanley Cup Finals.”

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As an alternative, they waited. They waited till after Chicago defeated Philadelphia within the last and a championship had been received, after a parade was held and events had been thrown with Aldrich and the participant each attending. They waited lengthy sufficient in order that Aldrich was allowed to make a sexual advance on a 22-year-old Blackhawks intern, after which was given the choice of both resigning or present process an investigation. When he selected to resign, he was nonetheless given his day with the Stanley Cup.

“After being knowledgeable of Aldrich’s alleged sexual harassment and misconduct with a participant, no motion was taken for 3 weeks,” the report concluded.

By then, the injury had been performed — not simply to the participant, who’s in search of greater than $150,000 in damages, and the intern, but in addition to the group, which was fined $2 million and now strikes ahead with a black mark on its championship dynasty.

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“Eleven years in the past, whereas serving in my first 12 months as normal supervisor, I used to be made conscious of potential inappropriate behaviour by a then-video coach involving a participant,” Bowman stated in a press release launched by the staff. “I promptly reported the matter to the then-(Blackhawks) president and CEO, who dedicated to dealing with the matter.

“I discovered this 12 months that the inappropriate behaviour concerned a severe allegation of sexual assault. I relied on the course of my superior that he would take applicable motion. Wanting again, now figuring out he didn’t deal with the matter promptly, I remorse assuming he would accomplish that.”

The query is the place does this go from right here?

After leaving the Blackhawks, Aldrich was convicted in 2013 in Michigan of fourth-degree legal sexual conduct involving a high-school scholar. He was sentenced in 2014 to 9 months in jail and 5 years of probation, which led to 2019. He’s on Michigan’s registry of intercourse offenders.

As for Bowman and the others who had been on the Blackhawks workers on the time, extra retribution could possibly be coming. Cheveldayoff and Quenneville have conferences scheduled with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman “to debate their roles within the related occasions as detailed within the report.”

It’s about time.

mtraikos@postmedia.com

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