Sexual assault allegation against former Blackhawks coach

[GioforPM]

I could see a DPP like Bergeron not knowing. But it’s hard to believe Q didn’t, or Chev.

[dustygoon]

Utterly disgusting but I can’t help but think of his next victim(s) who were minors. He was was convicted. Could raising the alarm bells have prevented that?

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by dustygoon

Utterly disgusting but I can’t help but think of his next victim(s) who were minors. He was was convicted. Could raising the alarm bells have prevented that?

That's pretty much what the second lawsuit is about and why everyone is disgusted by the Hawks organization for not going to police...

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by 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

Position of authority that affects your playing time --> livelihood.

While one wouldn't expect a video coach to hold that much power, it's impossible to say...plenty of reasons to believe there was a toxic culture [that apparently didn't preclude winning]

[getbak]

Originally Posted by 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.

I suspect if we ever find out who the players were, it will be two of the Black Aces who were brought up for the playoffs that year. It was probably a couple of bubble guys who were unlikely to play that year, but hoping to make a good impression for the next season.

In that position, if the video coach offers to give you some extra after hours help, you're going to accept.

[Northendzone]

i caught rintoul talking about this today and apparently betman was asked about it the otehr day and he indicated that the NHL was conducting an internal investigation. rintoul also noted that the NHL has yet to release anything on the Bill Peters file.

I believe they also had sheldon kennedy on the radio and from what i could gather he seemed critical of the NHL over this.

rintoul mentioned the player in question reached to out westhead at TSN and the player indicated that he has told his family; however, dealing with this is very difficult for him.

[sureLoss]

Toews takes issue with the statement that "everyone knew"

https://theathletic.com/2682532/2021...appened-to-me/

Toews said he didn’t hear about the allegations against Aldrich until right before training camp at the end of that summer of celebration. Aldrich was just gone — nobody knew if he left on his own or if he had been fired. That’s when, Toews said, he heard the stories from “those two players.”

“I don’t know who the player (that talked to The Athletic) is, but it kind of annoyed me because it seemed like it fed the fire a little bit,” Toews said. “When that player commented that everybody on the team knew, that wasn’t true. As far as I know, some guys may have caught whispers of it and some guys were clueless until the next year. I don’t think that was an accurate statement.”

Toews said he couldn’t comment much beyond that, offering sympathy for the players who were allegedly assaulted, calling it a “tough situation” and saying he couldn’t say for sure “if the team mishandled it.”

[sureLoss]

Blackhawk lawyers have filed a new motion to dismiss saying the team was not obligated to report the sexual assault.

The Blackhawks are going to take a big hit in the court of public opinion especially after Aldrich left the Hawks he allegedly assaulted college players and minors.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1413643641843765251

[Samonadreau]

What a joke. That's embarrassing and the mainstream media outlets need to cast more of a spotlight on the Blackhawks organization and anyone else accountable.... pressuring for heads to roll. Worst case for them to take accountability.

[Fan in Exile]

Well, if Stan Bowman loses his job, perhaps he can become a bishop.

[Fan in Exile]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Blackhawk lawyers have filed a new motion to dismiss saying the team was not obligated to report the sexual assault.

The Blackhawks are going to take a big hit in the court of public opinion especially after Aldrich left the Hawks he allegedly assaulted college players and minors.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1413643641843765251

Wow, really taking the high ground there.

1. Don't take allegations seriously.
2. Give sexual predator a letter of reference and he goes on to abuse minors
3. Argue you never had any obligation to report or investigate.

It's commonly understood that two wrongs don't make a right, but perhaps 3 do? What a disgrace and public relations disaster.

[Azure]

Everyone is saying it is just lawyer speak, but from my experience the lawyer will do what you tell him.

If you tell him to find any legal loophole he can, even if it means releasing such a disgusting statement, he will. If you tell him to legally find a way to keep things quiet and settle, he'll do that.

I guess we all know which route the Blackhawks are going.

[bdubbs]

That's absolutely disgusting and also not at all surprising that they're trying to wash their hands of any responsibility.

[Buff]

Okay. I can see a decent argument that the team didn't legally have to contact the police and they may not face legal repercussions over this. It is morally wrong. They should not have tried to hide it. They should not have given this guy a recommendation for his next job and should have warned the college of what was going on. It's still unacceptable.

[bluejays]

No discussion on Sopel saying the locker room was abuzz at the time and that virtually everyone was talking about it? Pretty damning for the guy to say that. Everyone in upper management and leadership (including Toews) should be ashamed that they've denied recently. Some guys just do the selfish thing for themselves, but when these are millionaires, it's an embarrassment.

[Beatle17]

Originally Posted by fleury

No discussion on Sopel saying the locker room was abuzz at the time and that virtually everyone was talking about it? Pretty damning for the guy to say that. Everyone in upper management and leadership (including Toews) should be ashamed that they've denied recently. Some guys just do the selfish thing for themselves, but when these are millionaires, it's an embarrassment.

I'm waiting for everyone's go to guy Carcillo to add his 2 cents.

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by fleury

No discussion on Sopel saying the locker room was abuzz at the time and that virtually everyone was talking about it? Pretty damning for the guy to say that. Everyone in upper management and leadership (including Toews) should be ashamed that they've denied recently. Some guys just do the selfish thing for themselves, but when these are millionaires, it's an embarrassment.

I'm still too pissed off that bowman hasn't had to take leave while this is being investigated.

[Eric Vail]

Originally Posted by getbak

I suspect if we ever find out who the players were, it will be two of the Black Aces who were brought up for the playoffs that year. It was probably a couple of bubble guys who were unlikely to play that year, but hoping to make a good impression for the next season.

In that position, if the video coach offers to give you some extra after hours help, you're going to accept.

Fringe players also have the least amount of power to speak up. They make better victims for a predator.

Where is Gary Bettman in all of this?

[TheIronMaiden]

More details came out. So much for the no one knew statements.

According to the filing, the player was “subjected to humiliating trash talking by his teammates during scrimmages where coaches were present” and “repeatedly” was called gay slurs and “other similar harassing statements.”

The entire article is an awful read, and could potentially be triggering.


https://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...flm-story.html

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

More details came out. So much for the no one knew statements.




The entire article is an awful read, and could potentially be triggering.


https://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...flm-story.html

What in the absolute ####…