Blackhawks Ignored 2010 Sexual Assault Accusation, an Investigation Says - The New York Times

Several Chicago Blackhawks executives failed to report a 2010 accusation that a minor league player had been sexually assaulted by the team’s video coach during that year’s playoffs, according to an independent investigation commissioned by the team.

Executives were concerned about distracting the team — Chicago won the Stanley Cup a month later — and did not thoroughly investigate the accusation or punish the coach, Brad Aldrich, according to the investigation.

Bowman and MacIsaac were among the team executives who were made aware in 2010 of the minor-leaguer’s accusation, the investigation report said.

The accusation first became public in May, when an unnamed former Blackhawks player filed a lawsuit saying that both he and a teammate had been assaulted by Aldrich, and that the team had ignored it.

The investigation involved interviews with 139 people, including the former player who made the accusation and Aldrich, as well as 21 current and former players for the Blackhawks and their top minor league affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs.

Accounts of that meeting varied, according to the report, with all participants acknowledging they were informed of an “unwelcome” sexual advance by Aldrich toward the player, but none of them said they were made aware of the nonconsensual sexual conduct the player described in his lawsuit.

No Blackhawks employee would take any action until June 14, five days after the team won the Stanley Cup, and four days after Aldrich made a sexual advance toward a 22-year-old intern and touched him during a celebration of the championship, according to the report.

On June 14, McDonough told the head of human resources about the May incident, according to the report, and two days later the human resources leader met with Aldrich and said that either the team would begin an investigation or Aldrich could resign.