[News] NHL will not discipline Cheveldayoff with respect to Brad Aldrich

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

I would imagine because the guy was still a part of the team?? Wouldn't you question wtf the guy was still doing there? I would.

He could have been investigated and cleared of wrong doing.

Again, you're applying 2021 knowledge to Chevy's position in 2010. He didn't know Aldrich was guilty or the extent of things.

[Zoller]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Sure of course he could. What’s your point? That’s either not enough because he should have personally kept tabs on Aldrich and gone to the police or his bosses would have just said “we investigated, it’s confidential and none of your concern or your business. That’s been dealt with. Now go back to work.”

Bit of an assumption there eh?

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

He could have been investigated and cleared of wrong doing.

Again, you're applying 2021 knowledge to Chevy's position in 2010. He didn't know Aldrich was guilty or the extent of things.

Why would he not question that decision or ask what was going on when the guy was still there? This is a very serious accusation. It sounds to me like you are jumping through hoops here to defend a guy who heard of a serious sexual misconduct and then did nothing to cover his own ass.

[VilleN]

Since it sounds like all the players in the locker room knew about the incident, which likely means all of the training staff knew, medical staff knew, etc. Does the NHL fire and ban everyone involved? I honestly don't know. I don't think the people in the Blackhawks organization are fundamentally any different than most groups of human beings. Most people find it difficult to come forward. And even as recently as 10 years ago it was more difficult than it is now - that has really changed over the past 5 or 6 years thankfully.

I think the harshest punishments need to be dolled out the leaders of the organization, because it is their direct responsibility to protect the players. It looks like that is happening. As for the others that knew? I think this is a time for people to learn from those mistakes. I think it is time for the NHL and other organizations to take this more seriously. Beach should not have had to file a complaint with the Blackhawks - the NHL should have an avenue for this type of grievance where it is dealt with by a third party.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

No it really doesn’t work for both. One was the man’s boss. One wasn’t. It’s not the same. JQ has a responsibility to make sure his direct employees aren’t assaulting people.

Do we even know Chevy knew Aldrich worked somewhere else? Did he know there were more assaults? Was Chevy, who was never involved in this investigation according to the league, supposed to take it upon himself to follow Aldrich’s life in perpetuity and conduct investigations into the man’s life? That’s a bit of a reach.

If his role was as limited as we are led to believe, he should feel bad and was part of the organizational structure that let down Beach but he’s nowhere near as culpable from an employment standpoint. He was effectively a bystander who knew about the incident.

I think Chevy was far less involved than the higher up management, or Q, who actively tried to hush it, then wrote a good evaluation and allowed participation in team activities and celebrations and then denied knowledge this summer.

I still think Chevy should have questioned why Aldrich was still around. And for sure his recent statements that he knew nothing are lies. This one meeting was supposedly very unusual.

So out of all the steps by the league (as opposed to by clubs), this one is unsatisfactory to me.

[ricardodw]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Yeah, I think the thing that bothers me the most is the code of silence that followed. Even after Aldrich had been dismissed, how is it that Cheveldayoff felt it necessary to keep quiet about what happened, and to essentially enable him to continue his abuse? Surely a call from a NHL GM, or a NHL coach, to Notre Dame after Aldrich appeared there would have been taken seriously. And yet, everyone in that meeting continued to turn a blind eye to this FOR A DECADE.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

So Cheveldayoff should have pressed the issue and basically "outed" Beach who obviously was not ready to go public with this.

Skills coach Paul Vincent was the first person that Beach told and provided positive support with as much information on the situation as anyone. Should of he called the police? Provided warning to Notre Dame?

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

So Cheveldayoff should have pressed the issue and basically "outed" Beach who obviously was not ready to go public with this.

Skills coach Paul Vincent was the first person that Beach told and provided positive support with as much information on the situation as anyone. Should of he called the police? Provided warning to Notre Dame?

Yes. He did more than almost anyone else, and beach seems to be OK with his level of action, but yes.

As for "outing" Beach, reporting to the police is no such thing, nor is pressing the issue with management, who already knew.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I think Chevy was far less involved than the higher up management, or Q, who actively tried to hush it, then wrote a good evaluation and allowed participation in team activities and celebrations and then denied knowledge this summer.

I still think Chevy should have questioned why Aldrich was still around. And for sure his recent statements that he knew nothing are lies. This one meeting was supposedly very unusual.

So out of all the steps by the league (as opposed to by clubs), this one is unsatisfactory to me.

I agree and haven’t said anything contrary to this.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Locke

Yes but....

There is good reason to believe that Beach went to the NHLPA which means another ass in the sling is Fehr's....

And if the NHLPA knew and did nothing it stands to reason that Fehr's ass isnt the only one in that sling. Gary's would be right next to it.

How does that follow? The whole meeting was essentially about a coverup. I bet they were afraid that the NHL would not be willing or able to keep it quiet. and there's no way that the NHL would know about Aldrich calling the NHLPA Player Assistance program. They actually shouldn't know. and it's not like Fehr and Bettman are buddies.

[RogerWilco]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

No. You’re being absurd. If the Administrator’s boss, the principal and the superintendent all know and all say they’re taking action, then maybe the administrator isn’t on the hook for independently going to law enforcement about a topic they have limited knowledge of but have full reason to believe has been fully handled and investigated by the school.

If the gym teacher is still hanging around for a few more weeks because the girls volleyball team made the playoffs, it’s probably safe to assume it wasn’t “handled” properly.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

How does that follow? The whole meeting was essentially about a coverup. I bet they were afraid that the NHL would not be willing or able to keep it quiet. and there's no way that the NHL would know about Aldrich calling the NHLPA Player Assistance program. They actually shouldn't know. and it's not like Fehr and Bettman are buddies.

Beach said he went to pretty much everyone. And there has been plenty of time in between June (when the allegations came out) and today for the NHL and NHLPA to do their own investigations. Only the Blackhawks did so.

They let the team responsible for the coverup do their own investigation and called it good enough.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Beach said he went to pretty much everyone. And there has been plenty of time in between June (when the allegations came out) and today for the NHL and NHLPA to do their own investigations. Only the Blackhawks did so.

They let the team responsible for the coverup do their own investigation and called it good enough.

Beach's everyone seemed to be about the Hawks. Then he mentioned the NHLPA separately. I think if he sought help from the league he would have mentioned it.

I agree the NHL should have done its own investigation post-statement of claim. They still should, though the one that was done was very good.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by Sutter_in_law

But that's just it, Chevy couldn't have been certain, the guy was still in the midst of everything weeks later.

What you say is true. But is that enough to turf a guy 10 years later? Hard to say without being privy to some of the info Gary is privy to.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Beach's everyone seemed to be about the Hawks. Then he mentioned the NHLPA separately. I think if he sought help from the league he would have mentioned it.

I agree the NHL should have done its own investigation post-statement of claim. They still should, though the one that was done was very good.

Sorry, not at the time of the incident, but before this investigation occurred:

I think that the step the Blackhawks took yesterday is a great step in the right direction. They accepted accountability and they took actions necessary, albeit too late. And the denials until yesterday, I commend them for what they did. Part of this process - I’m not sure what it was, three or four months ago – the NHL denied an investigation. They wanted nothing to do with it, they didn’t want to touch it. USA Sport also denied doing an investigation.

[Calgary4LIfe]

I'm disappointed in this decision. Fact is that Cheveldayoff knew and did nothing. Maybe he assumed that something was done? Not sure how he could have assumed that with Aldrich raising the cup.


I would have liked to see him get disciplined here if for no other reason than for the NHL to ensure that the 'code of silence' gets blown wide-open in the future. I want people in the future to actually be scared of NOT reporting these monsters and allowing this kind of abhorrent conduct to continue.


There were at least 2 additional individuals who were subsequently 'destroyed' by Aldrich because a bunch of idiots chose to remain silent after Kyle bravely notified the organization, and that really makes me both angry and sad.


I think the NHL got it wrong here with Cheveldayoff. I would have liked to have seen everyone involved in keeping this quiet disciplined.

[dino7c]

kinda surprised with this one...there has to be something between being shown the door and nothing

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Beach's everyone seemed to be about the Hawks. Then he mentioned the NHLPA separately. I think if he sought help from the league he would have mentioned it.

I agree the NHL should have done its own investigation post-statement of claim. They still should, though the one that was done was very good.

He said that he also told his parents shortly after, who only took it as far as Beach was willing to at the time. He was still chasing his NHL dream and they figured that going next level would have killed that dream. Which it would have, no doubt.

Don't get me wrong, I am not at all saying they should have done more either. The power imbalance organizations have over people is staggering. People are at the mercy of that power imbalance, like Beach and by extension, his parents, are just not in a position to do much without sacrificing everything. It's a lot to put on the victims, and why the Blackhawks senior staff with all the power had to do more.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

He said that he also told his parents shortly after, who only took it as far as Beach was willing to at the time. He was still chasing his NHL dream and they figured that going next level would have killed that dream. Which it would have, no doubt.

Don't get me wrong, I am not at all saying they should have done more either. The power imbalance organizations have over people is staggering. People are at the mercy of that power imbalance, like Beach and by extension, his parents, are just not in a position to do much without sacrificing everything. It's a lot to put on the victims, and why the Blackhawks senior staff with all the power had to do more.

Yeah, I'm just saying every party's culpability is triggered when they learned. For the NHL, that was at the latest in June, and I don't know when the earliest was. I just don't see the Hawks checking in with Gary to see what he thought, because IMO he would have said "a video coach - get rid of him". And even if that happened I'm not sure he would have known about the job evaluation, the cup celebrations, etc. I'm sure the Hawks would have downplayed it as much as possible to Bettman.

[MBates]

The Sheldon Kennedy interview on Sportsnet should be required viewing for informed discussion on this:

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/video/f...beach-bravery/

Like, really...watch it. He is so eloquent and confidence-inspiring and it cannot be captured in writing. There is no question he does not approve of how anyone handled this situation (other than Beach) but he is very deliberately not advocating a scorched earth policy or suggesting that firing anybody who knew anything would be the right response.

He says some remarkable things (a pretty close transcript of what I see as highlights):

Our goal from day 1 is to empower the bystander...to me there was many many bystanders...The bystanders that were here that knew this was wrong but didn't have the confidence to come forward we feel is our best defence...Our mission from day 1 is to try build the confidence around issues that carry a lot of fear - abuse, bullying, harrassment, inclusion, diversity...they carry fear because they are misunderstood, they are not well-taught as we go through our lives. So we've spent our time trying to focus on the 99% of good people, give them the tools to do better, create a confidence around these issues for conversation to happen with clear language and a clear pathway to safe help.
...

Policies and procedures just don't cut it anymore...the League needs to learn and be able to make sure that they've created the infrastructure within every organization to not only educate every single person within that organization but they also have to have a clear pathway for those to be able to receive help and a clear action plan for when that disclosure comes forward...

I look at these situations as a good teachable, let's learn from this, let's be better, let's make sure this does not happen to anybody else.

In reality, large organizations can ensure failure to improve in the way Sheldon is describing here by just indiscriminately firing every bystander. Because then it allows for everyone else left to just say "Phew, glad all that problem is gone from the league". It becomes an excuse to not make actual lasting change to the entire organization and the culture that enabled the abuse and the cover-up.

I do not pretend to know any of the people involved or to be able to divine what their true knowledge or complicity may have been in any of this. And I have reviewed the written report.

I would put out there, however, that if Chevyldaoff could fit within that description of a bystander who is in the 99% of good people who with tools and confidence (and this life experience) could be a key element of changing the NHL and making sure this doesn't happen again then even if imperfect and not blameless, is it not the right decision to keep him around?

It at least seems reasonably defensible. I can see the argument for forcing him out as well, but obviously not every piece of information has been publicly disclosed. I find it hard to have a clear viewpoint one way or the other in light of what someone as credible as Sheldon Kennedy has had to say about it.

I would prefer to see some actual commentary from Bettman that this is part of the master plan moving forward, but maybe what he has said is not that far off?

[GioforPM]

About punishment short of having Chevy fired - what does that look like? I mean it sounds like Bettman pressured the Panthers and Q into what happened, and they could suspend a coach if that didn't happen. How do you suspend a GM? I guess you could punish the Jets via draft picks and fines for failing to do something with him.