The Chicago Blackhawks Sexual Assault Scandal Has Gone From Bad To Worse

The Chicago Blackhawks remain under heavy scrutiny since a bombshell story was dropped that the team covered up allegations of sexual assault against video coach Brad Aldrich during the 2010 season.

According to the reports, at least two different players accused video coach Brad Aldrich of abusing them behind closed doors.

A Member Of The 2010 Chicago Blackhawks Is Suing The Team, Claiming He Was Sexually Assaulted By A Coachhttps://t.co/cPFb10X04c

— SideAction (@SideActionHQ) May 13, 2021

On Monday, TSN revealed an interview with a marketing official who says he was told by team trainer Jeff Thomas to steer clear of Brad Aldrich because he had sexually assaulted two players on the team. The unidentified former staffer went as far as to say that Aldrich’s behavior was an ‘open secret’ within the organization

“Brad would routinely befriend young interns and invite them to his apartment in Chicago to watch March Madness basketball and other sports,” the marketing official said. “I was told to steer clear of him because he had tried something at his apartment on a few players. This was not something that only a few people knew about. The entire training staff, a lot of people knew…This was an open secret.”

The alleged sexual assault of two former Chicago Blackhawks players was “an open secret” among staff both within and outside the team’s hockey department, a former team marketing official said in an interview with TSN.

Story from @rwesthead: https://t.co/7Nilhffnl7 pic.twitter.com/tBQeCq7lIX

— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) June 23, 2021

[SideAction-ad-group]

The skills coach on the Blackhawks at the time, Paul Vincent, said he was made aware of the allegations during the 2010 Western Conference finals. Vincent said he asked members of team management to go to Chicago police, but his request was denied.

Vincent said he is willing to testify on behalf of the accusers in the lawsuits against the Blackhawks organization.

“I feel a weight has been lifted off of me,” Vincent said in an interview on Monday with 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.”

Paul Vincent says he was pulled into a meeting where team president John McDonough, general manager Stan Bowman, and vice-president of hockey operations Al MacIsaac were made aware of the allegations. Vincent said he also had conversations with assistant coaches John Torchetti and Mike Haviland about the team’s refusal to involve the police. It remains unclear whether head coach Joel Quenneville was involved in the cover-up.

Brad Aldrich would move on from the Blackhawks after 2010, and more disturbing stories followed him. In 2012, Aldrich resigned from his position as director of hockey operations at Miami University because he was “under suspicion of unwanted touching of a male adult”. Just one year later, Aldrich was convicted of abusing a then-17-year-old hockey player in Michigan.

What a truly disgusting story, and hopefully many member of the Chicago Blackhawks organization get held accountable for their roles in allowing Brad Aldrich to continue to prey on underaged individuals.

The NHL has yet to comment on the troubling allegations against Brad Aldrich and the Chicago Blackhawks organization.

Welcome to the game outside the game! Follow us on our Sideaction Twitter handle, Instagram, and Facebook for the latest on sports and pop culture news across the web!