Former Blackhawks players speak out on allegations of sexual abuse

As more details emerge about allegations of sexual abuse of Blackhawks players by former video coach Brad Aldrich, some players are beginning to speak out.

In an article published Tuesday morning in the Athletic, several players reacted to Thursday’s sensational report that alleged sexual abuse of players on the 2010 Cup-winning Blackhawks was an “open secret” among the organization’s staff and players.

“Everyone on the team knew about it,” said one anonymous player in the 2010 team said The Athletic. “Every single man on the team knew.”

In early June, it was revealed that a Chicago Blackhawks video coach allegedly sexually harassed two of the team’s players during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The alleged incidents were reported by the players to then-skills coach Paul Vincent in May 2010 during the Western Conference final against the San Jose Sharks. Vincent reportedly informed the team’s management of the alleged assaults, but the group – which included then-Blackhawks president John McDonough, vice president of hockey operations Al MacIsaac, general manager Stan Bowman and sports psychologist James Gary – refused to report the allegations to Chicago police, according to TSN’s Rick Westhead.

One of the players filed a lawsuit in Illinois in May alleging the Blackhawks ignored allegations of sexual abuse. The allegations also include claims that Aldrich sent inappropriate text messages and made threats if the players did not engage in sexual activity.

On Wednesday, another dark side of the story emerged when Westhead reported that abuses within the organization – among staff, coaches and players – were an “open secret.”

Nick Boynton, a former defender who was part of that 2010 team, told The Athletic that Vincent told players he would report the allegations to team management, and he believes Vincent did just that.

“I trust (Vincent) more than the front office,” Boynton said. “He’s a decent guy.”

Aldrich’s name is on the Stanley Cup and can be seen in many of the team’s championship photos. Another former player, who was not among the two who informed Vincent of Aldrich’s alleged assaults, told the Athletic that what bothers him most is not that Aldrich is central to all of those memories.

“It doesn’t bother me that they let him take pictures with the trophy,” the player said. “What bothers me is that they fired him but didn’t go to the police. … They allowed him to get a job with an under-18 team. They let him work with minors. They allowed that.”

As the player noted, Aldrich remained with the team until the end of the playoffs after Vincent alerted management to the alleged assaults, after which he left the team to “pursue other employment opportunities.”

Aldrich later became a coach of a high school hockey team and eventually pleaded guilty to fourth-degree sexual abuse of a student between the ages of 16 and 18. The abuse involved a 17-year-old player and included “sexual touching and brief oral penetration…”

In February 2014, Aldrich was sentenced to nine months in prison and five years probation. He is registered as a sex offender in Michigan.

The victim of that crime filed a lawsuit against the Blackhawks for allegedly giving Aldrich a positive letter of recommendation despite knowing about the sexual assault allegations, which got him the job with the high school team, according to TSN.

The athletics Mark Lazerus And Katie Strang were able to obtain a comment from NHL Vice President Bill Daly, who said the NHL “has been in contact with the club regarding this matter, but there is no ongoing investigation. We have no further comment at this time.”

Former defenseman Brent Sopel wrote a pretty damning indictment of the team’s 2010 hockey department, tweet this in response to a thread with Daly’s quote:

“The management should be in jail. The NHL is showing its true colors. Gary doesn’t care about anyone but himself. It’s absolutely disgusting that the NHL is doing nothing.”

At the time of this writing, neither Aldrich nor anyone else from the Blackhawks organization or the NHLPA has commented on the allegations.

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