Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron sounds off on Blackhawks sexual assault coverup
The Bruins captain has offered his thoughts on the situation that's rocked the hockey world.
Earlier this year, an unidentified player from the 2010 Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks sued the organization for ignoring his claims that he and another player were being sexually assaulted by an assistant coach, and that the team did nothing to stop it.
The player, only previously known as "John Doe", has been revealed to be Kyle Beach, who made his identity known tonight during an exclusive interview on Sportscenter.
Beach was drafted by the Blackhawks in the 1st round (11th overall) in the 2008 NHL Draft. His time within the Blackhawks organization was spent with the AHL affiliate Rockford IceHogs. However, his experiences occurred during the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs when he was called up by the team as a reserve.
The report states that in May of 2010, which would have been during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, team video coach Brad Aldrich “turned on porn and began to masturbate in front of” Beach. Additionally, the report says that Aldrich sent “inappropriate text messages” to Beach and threatened to “physically, financially and emotionally” harm him if he “did not engage in sexual activity". The lawsuit stated that Beach reported the incident to James F. Gary, the team's mental skills coach, following the incident.
A thorough investigation found that the Blackhawks are guilty "inadequate internal procedures and insufficient and untimely response in the handling of matters related to former video coach Brad Aldrich's employment with the Club and ultimate departure in 2010", and they were fined $2 million by the NHL yesterday. The report also stated that team personnel including then-head coach Joel Quenneville decided not to address the situation in order to better focus on the playoffs.
GM Stan Bowman has since resigned, along with senior director of hockey administration Al MacIsaac.
Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron has offered his thoughts on the situation, taking a clear shot at the fact that the Blackhawks felt that their ongoing Stanley Cup Playoff run was more important than addressing the abuse from Aldrich.
"You have to make sure you handle things the right way, and in a timely manner as well. Hockey’s one thing, but obviously there’s more important things in life," Bergeron stated prior to tonight's game against Quenneville and the Panthers. "You have to prioritize those things.”
We certainly wish that the Blackhawks had felt the same.
