End Their Careers

As I sit here tonight and having read what the management of the Chicago Blackhawks did back in 2010 in essentially covering up a massive scandal, I am sickened by these men. All of them. The act of the sexual assault is disgusting on its own, but for the Blackhawks to silence the accuser, refuse to investigate the accused, and eventually releasing him from his duties without consequence should, in my world, mean that anyone involved with the Blackhawks' front office during that time would never work in hockey again in any capacity at any level.

If you haven't heard, former assistant coach Bradley Aldrich was convicted in 2013 in Michigan of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a student and is now on that state's registry of sex offenders. In 2010 during the Westen Conference Final while working in the Blackhawks organization, Aldrich sexually assaulted two players who reported the assault to then-skills coach Paul Vincent. Vincent reportedly brought the information to Blackhawks' senior staff including both GM Stan Bowman and President John McDonough in order to have an investigation done based on these serious allegations, and the executives of the Blackhawks decided it would be best if the story went away rather than bringing in the police.

"I feel a weight has been lifted off of me," Vincent told TSN. "I will stand up in court and say what happened. I know what the team did to cover this up and coming forward was the right thing to do."

If this stands to be true - and by all accounts, there are many who can corroborate the story - everyone in the front office of the Chicago Blackhawks at that time should be banned for life from hockey for being covering this up, allowing Aldrich to continue to commit horrific crimes, and for lying about the situation. If you wanted a clear-cut case for "aiding and abetting", the Chicago Blackhawks should stand trial.

As per TSN's Rick Westhead, the timeline is pretty succinct. He writes,

"Vincent alleges that after the players approached him on May 16, 2010, in San Jose, he asked Blackhawks sports psychologist James Gary to follow up with the players and management.

"The following day, Vincent says he was called into a meeting with team president John McDonough, general manager Stan Bowman, vice-president of hockey operations Al MacIsaac, and Gary. Vincent said that he asked the team to report the alleged abuse to Chicago police. That request was refused, Vincent said."

If this is indeed what went down, McDonough, Bowman, MacIsaac, and Gary should be barred from hockey with prejudice. Those four men sat in the meeting with Vincent and made the decision to cover up the allegations against Aldrich without so much as considering an investigation, and that should cost them their livelihoods for the rest of their lives after Aldrich destroyed the lives of others.

Westhead does make it clear in the article that assistant trainer Jeff Thomas told Vincent who took action, and that Vincent informed both assistant coaches John Torchetti and Mike Haviland of the complaint and his stepping forward to raise concerns with management. In knowing that, it would seem that the number of people who knew and did nothing or were told to do nothing will only grow from here, and those people should also be banned from hockey.

It may or may not include people like former head coach Joel Quenneville, former assistant general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, and former Blackhawks director of player personnel Marc Bergevin, but there will be others who had to know of Vincent bringing the allegations to management. It should be noted that both the Winnipeg Jets, where Cheveldayoff is now employed, and the Florida Panthers, where Quenneville is employed, refused to comment on the findings, instead referring Westhead back to the Blackhawks for comment. The Montreal Canadiens vice-president of public affairs and communications Paul Wilson emailed Westhead, stating that Bergevin claims he was not aware of the allegations at that time.

The past complaints against Aldrich that are coming to light now are rather disgusting, but they show the distinct pattern of a predator. Tony Arnold and Dave McKinney of WBEZ Chicago reported,

"One case involved a 16-year-old boy who told police that Aldrich picked him up at a county fair. The police report indicates that minor told investigators he and Aldrich went back to his apartment and engaged in 'sexual relations' that left him feeling 'uncomfortable with the situation.' No charges resulted from that case.

"Another instance cited in the report related to a troubled youth who at one point was housed in a juvenile detention facility. The young man, whose age isn't identified, told police he engaged in sex with Aldrich at his home and along the waterfront of a neighboring town, where Aldrich resides, according to the police report. No charges arose from that case.

A third case mentioned in the police report involved an alleged incident at Aldrich's house. A male, whose name is redacted, told police that he had known Aldrich since he was a freshman, when Aldrich was coaching. The male told police that at the gathering, Aldrich allegedly put his hand in the shorts of a girl beside him. The report said the male, whose age wasn't identified, 'stated that he became very upset by this and lost respect for Brad Aldrich.'"

Add to those complaints the two players from the Blackhawks, his resignation from Miami University on November 27, 2012 "under suspicion of unwanted touching of a male adult" as per the university's lawyer, and the 2013 conviction in Michigan of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a student, and it would appear that Brad Aldrich is no different than Graham James.

In knowing all this, the Chicago Blackhawks should be conducting sweeping terminations today. Instead, team spokesman Adam Rogowin told WBEZ in May that "the team was confident it would 'be absolved of any wrongdoing.'"

That statement doesn't appear to be holding up well, Mr. Rogowin. Whatever happens in this investigation, the Chicago Blackhawks have an ugly stain on them moving forward as long as any of the executives named above remain with the team in some capacity. Beyond that, for any player, coach, or staff member who has knowledge of what went on and doesn't step forward to condemn the Blackhawks' handling of this situation further should also lose their livelihoods because they're protecting the criminals, not the victims. I don't care about friendships, employer-employee relationships, or any other relationship they may still have with the Blackhawks, their silence is damning if they continue to maintain it.

Jenna and I have been saying for months on The Hockey Show that the NHL is a business first and humanity will also come second or lower for the league and its teams. It seems almost ironic that the unnamed Blackhawks player wrote to WBEZ the following statement: "Success and wins are valued more than people and they need to deal with the serious issues."

Hockey, at so many levels, is broken, and it's rotten to the core at the NHL's level. My hope is that this situation with the Blackhawks will be the point where the league, the teams, and the people in the game start to really look at what's important in making this game great so that changes can be implemented at the top levels and flow down to lower levels of hockey, but my idealism on this is likely nothing more than a fantasy with zero basis in reality. The NHL doesn't care about the morality of the game where there are dollars to be made.

Ban everyone from that 2010 Chicago Blackhawks' front office. Ban them for life, take their names off the Stanley Cup, make them ineligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame, and ensure that their involvement in covering up a sexual assault that led to further sexual assaults of players is a stain that can never be washed away. More news will break on this story, so be prepared to be disgusted even further by the Blackhawks and their executive team.

Based on what we know tonight, end their careers and any future career they may have or want in hockey. By taking everything from them, they may then realize the same pain and emptiness felt by the victims of a monster they were complicit in allowing to roam their hallways freely.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!