Sexual assault allegation against former Blackhawks coach

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Yeah, what you say is fair, but "if we all knew", is there no responsibility on the "leadership group" to at least go talk to Quenneville and ensure that "something" happens? I am not saying that these guys are responsible, but it sure seems like the human thing to do. They also could have all talked to their agents/lawyers and asked them to deal with it with the team at a higher level, if they were unwilling to get involved themselves. These are not 15-17 year-old junior kids away from home. They are still young and inexperienced, but they have lawyers that can advise them and take care of the "dirty" work if need be...

"Something" did happen. Players went to the skills coach, who took it up the chain, and management ignored it. The mental-skills coach then turned it on the victim and blamed him. This occurred during the playoffs, and Alden was fired directly after, within a few weeks.

The issue isn't about nobody reporting it or the team not backing these players, the issue is that it was reported, and what should have happened (Alden being immediately let go and the incident reported to the police) didn't happen. We don't know how it was handled between the incident being reported and the firing, other than the fact that he got to take a picture with the cup.

We're guessing at what the rest of the players did, didn't do, thought, or felt. For what? We know it was reported by players, we know at least one coach took it seriously, and we know management didn't and at least one of them chose to blame the victim instead. We know management didn't report it to police, and didn't cooperate with police when Alden then went and assaulted a kid afterwards.

I don't think there's any need to try to spread blame to the players here, especially when the victim hasn't expressed that at all.

[dustygoon]

I haven’t been following this. Has sportsnet said anything on this or picked it up in any way? Seems very silent for a story like this. I lot of talk about DEI on telecasts by Ron and the crew, but this kind of social issue should at least make their webpage. There is enough smoke to know something has happened.

[sureLoss]

Apparently the NHLPA did little to help the victim

https://twitter.com/user/status/1408550443031142408

[The Cobra]

I am beginning to wonder if Toews absence this year from the team is somehow connected to this?


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[MrMike]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

I am beginning to wonder if Toews absence this year from the team is somehow connected to this?


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I didn’t want to speculate but in my head I’m positive this is why.

[Buff]

I highly doubt Toews has anything to do with this, one way or the other. I can't dream up a scenario that has him a part of this without getting a job offer to write for Days of Our Lives.

[Hey Connor, It's Mess]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

I am beginning to wonder if Toews absence this year from the team is somehow connected to this?


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I admit that I've thought about it too, but then I think back to how this was handled by their organization and I feel it would have been different if it was him or Kane (sadly).

[powderjunkie]

In terms of players' responsibility, I think we have to consider the timing of this being conference finals --> SCF --> Parade --> summer.

A time of near total focus on-ice, I can see how players might not have the bandwidth to really process this or take action. For all we know, maybe some players did speak to management and were assured that it was being handled appropriately. Or the victims were adamant about not letting it become a distraction.

Conversely, the playoffs are actually one of the quietest times for GM. No excuse here...though I can also see how things just sort of fizzle and disappear in the summer, but that also means it's a good time to investigate and take action.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Hey Connor, It's Mess

I admit that I've thought about it too, but then I think back to how this was handled by their organization and I feel it would have been different if it was him or Kane (sadly).

I wasn't necessarily thinking he was a victim. He might have a problem with how it may have been handled, for example. One thing seems certain, there looks like there is a ton to this story.

[Da_Chief]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

I wasn't necessarily thinking he was a victim. He might have a problem with how it may have been handled, for example. One thing seems certain, there looks like there is a ton to this story.

He didn't miss a season due to it for last 10 years so why would he protest it now? Not to mention he signed a massive deal in 2014.

I see no reason why Toews missing the season has anything to do with this.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Da_Chief

He didn't miss a season due to it for last 10 years so why would he protest it now? Not to mention he signed a massive deal in 2014.

I see no reason why Toews missing the season has anything to do with this.

You are likely right, it’s just that his absence has been mysterious.

It’s possible that some info came to his attention last year that troubled him. We have no idea what was generally known in 2014.


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[powderjunkie]

Someone has probably mentioned this, but this happened in the same season as the Peters/Aliu incident(s).

Stan Bowman certainly shouldn't be exempt from serious questions, but the organizational culture was likely developed moreso under Tallon and McDonagh (who may have had a dysfunctional relationship themselves).

From Dale Tallon's wikipedia:

on July 14, 2009, the Blackhawks demoted Tallon to the position of senior advisor, while Stan Bowman, son of Scotty Bowman, was promoted to general manager.[14][15] The following day, Martin Havlát, who was no longer a Blackhawk, criticized the team's management and defended Tallon.[16] He stated, "Every single player on that team is with Dale. I still talk to the guys all the time, hockey players know a phony when they see one."[16] He specifically berated John McDonough, the team's president, commenting, "McDonough couldn't stand that Dale was so successful and getting the credit for building the Blackhawks from a last place team to making the Conference Finals in three short years."[

Bowman was in a sr. role with the team since 2001, and certainly seems to have managed thie issues poorly once he was the head honcho.

One also wonders if there was more to Tallon's demotion than the QO boondoggles.

[getbak]

Marc Bergevin, who was the Blackhawks' Director of Player Personnel in 2010, said today that he was unaware of any allegations against Aldrich and was not in any meetings where the allegations were discussed.


https://www.tsn.ca/marc-bergevin-say...oach-1.1660912

Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin says he was unaware of sexual assault allegations against a Chicago Blackhawks assistant coach during his time with the club.

An unidentified former Blackhawks player has alleged in a lawsuit against the team that then-assistant coach Bradley Aldrich sexually assaulted him in 2010 during a playoff run to a Stanley Cup title and that the team did nothing after he informed a now-retired employee.

Bergevin was the Blackhawks' director of pro personnel at the time.

"It came out recently. There was a meeting that I heard that was done in Chicago. I was not part of any meeting, and I was not part of any decision based on that," Bergevin said Sunday before the Canadiens travelled to Tampa, Fla., for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final.

"And I was not aware of anything going on at the time. So you can go on the record with that."

Bergevin isn't the only former member of the Blackhawks' management team who could be feeling the heat from the fallout of this. Kevin Cheveldayoff was Chicago's AGM in 2010.

[VladtheImpaler]

Per the Athletic, the Hawks have hired a former prosecutor's law firm to investigate the allegations:

https://theathletic.com/news/blackha...o/Ri0PpgTLBZzt

[dustygoon]

Finally sportsnet finished wringing it’s hands and staring at its naval. Friedman has this in his 31 thoughts. What pressure existed that sportsnet couldn’t even give some space to this sooner?

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by dustygoon

Finally sportsnet finished wringing it’s hands and staring at its naval. Friedman has this in his 31 thoughts. What pressure existed that sportsnet couldn’t even give some space to this sooner?

The optimist in me says that they were doing their due-diligence (or, at least waiting until The Athletic did theirs) before making it a story. With such serious subject matter, it's not about the speed at which you report it - it's about getting the facts right.

The pessimist in me says they were trying to manage their relationship with the NHL for as long as they could, before The Athletic started really digging and it couldn't be ignored anymore.

[dustygoon]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

The optimist in me says that they were doing their due-diligence (or, at least waiting until The Athletic did theirs) before making it a story. With such serious subject matter, it's not about the speed at which you report it - it's about getting the facts right.

The pessimist in me says they were trying to manage their relationship with the NHL for as long as they could, before The Athletic started really digging and it couldn't be ignored anymore.

I hear you. And probably it’s a bit of both. At least they (Friedman at least) is on this and made the point that regardless of any statute of limitations, it would be unacceptable to duck this.

[sureLoss]

Well if you want to by cynical about it Friedman only started acknowledging it on his twitter after Bergevin was asked about it in the Stanley Cup Final pressers yesterday.

At that point I guess the story became main stream enough.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

The optimist in me says that they were doing their due-diligence (or, at least waiting until The Athletic did theirs) before making it a story. With such serious subject matter, it's not about the speed at which you report it - it's about getting the facts right.

The pessimist in me says they were trying to manage their relationship with the NHL for as long as they could, before The Athletic started really digging and it couldn't be ignored anymore.

There's no reason they couldn't have reported on the first lawsuit if not the second lawsuit. They don't need to get 'proof' of anything except that the lawsuits were indeed filed. I mean, they didn't wait to report on Henderson's lawsuit against Wideman.

They intentionally remained silent.

[Northendzone]

In some ways it boggles my mind that a coach of adult men (most of whom are driven a type personalities) could still yield power over his victims to assault/abuse them.

And if the organization was complicit and covered this up - ugh, what a mess