Blackhawks Owner Rocky Wirtz Slammed Over Response To 2010 Sexual Assault

Chicago Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz joined a “Town Hall” tonight to provide transparency about the team’s direction and plan going forward in their rebuild.

The Haws’ brasshad to recognize that they were going to get a question about former player Kyle Beach’s allegations of sexual assault cover up in relation to a couple different encounters with video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010. Not only did the suit lead to some financial ramifications, but several members from the 2010 Blackhawks’ leadership were fired from their various jobs around the league because of their role in the ensuing cover-up.

However, when Mark Lazerus from The Athletic asked Rocky Wirtz and co. about what steps they were taking to ensure that nothing like the Kyle Beach situation happens ever again, the owner snapped. He was adamant that they would not discuss the allegations during their Town Hall, and demanded Lazerus to “move on” from his question.

See more

Train wreck of a response from Rock Wirtz pic.twitter.com/gGIwoKfhVK

— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) February 3, 2022

Rocky Wirtz was slammed all over the web for his response to the Kyle Beach situation.

See more

Rocky Wirtz dropped a nuclear bomb on the concept of accountability tonight.

My column:https://t.co/VaxIGhehrZ

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) February 3, 2022

See more

Rocky Wirtz very angrily berates me for asking about what the Blackhawks are doing to empower players in the future in Kyle Beach's situation.

"We're not going to talk about Kyle Beach. We're not going to talk about 2010. We're moving on."

That is the WRONG answer.

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) February 3, 2022

See more

Rocky Wirtz straight up berating the only Black writer on the beat and not letting him get in a question is also notable https://t.co/nfZZJcXjaK

— Gaby Ugarte (@hockeynuisance) February 3, 2022

See more

Good God, @NHL. You have to suspend this idiot Wirtz indefinitely #Blackhawks https://t.co/XZSAK6NZAQ

— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) February 3, 2022

See more

People in power like Rocky Wirtz are why we fail to see any change in hockey culture! This was beyond embarrassing. https://t.co/V32aBbFWsa

— Avry's Sports Show (@Avry) February 3, 2022

See more

The entire #Blackhawks organization should be absolutely embarrassed by the display from Rocky Wirtz tonight.
Utterly disgraceful.

— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) February 3, 2022

Rocky Wirtz’s idea for this whole “Town Hall” event was to build a better relationship with his fan base by being transparent after such a tumultuous season. But instead of taking a step forward like they planned, the Blackhawks took many steps in the wrong direction.

Not only was Wirtz’s outburst disrespectful to Kyle Beach and everything he’s been through for the past 12 years of his life, but it’s also hard to imagine that any potential general manager or head coach candidate would be too interested in joining an organization with such a damaged culture right now.

We’ll see if there’s any after-effects from the Rocky Wirtz outburst on Tuesday night.

---

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!