NHL fines Blackhawks $2-million for “inadequate procedures and mishandling” of 2010 sexual assault

It all came down on Tuesday afternoon for the Chicago Blackhawks. The team announced their general manager and president Stan Bowman had stepped down in the wake of an independent investigation into allegations that a then-assistant coach sexually assaulted two players in 2010.

The report, called “disturbing and difficult to read” by CEO Danny Wirtz, has been handed over to the NHL. The league has shortly after fined the Hawks $2-million for “inadequate procedures and mishandling” of 2010 sexual assault.

Of the fine, $1 million will be set aside to “fund local organizations in and around the Chicago community that provide counselling and training for, and support and assistance to, survivors of sexual and other forms of abuse.”

“Today’s fine represents a direct and necessary response to the failure of the club to follow-up and address the 2010 incident in a timely and appropriate manner,” commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “And, this response should send a clear message to all NHL clubs and all NHL personnel that inappropriate acts must be addressed in a timely fashion. In that regard, we also reiterate that the league has implemented a confidential and anonymous hot line, which is available at any time to all NHL personnel.”

Bettman also addressed the futures of the Blackhawks’ management team of McDonough, MacIsaac, Bowman and Bunk, noting that further discipline could be meted out.

“Should they wish to re-enter the league in some capacity in the future, I will require a meeting with me in advance of their accepting any NHL Club-related position in order to determine the appropriate conditions under which such new employment might take place,” Bettman said.

The investigation into the allegations began this past August and was led by former federal prosecutor Reid Schar in conjunction with Jenner & Block LLP.

The allegations came to light this past offseason after a former player filed a lawsuit in Chicago against the franchise. That unnamed player alleges that he reported the abuse to the team and that he was essentially ignored. The player alleges that then team video coach Brad Aldrich had allegedly sexually assaulted him and then threatened him via text messages and other communications against making a complaint. A second former player alleges that he was also sexual assaulted by Aldrich and he also accuses the Blackhawks of covering up the abuse of two players and then granting Aldrich a letter of reference when he left the team quietly in the summer of 2010. That letter gave him the opportunity to go on and find other victims, the lawsuit alleges.

Aldrich would go on to be convicted of abusing a 17 year old hockey player in 2013 after resigning from his position as director of hockey operations at Miami University on Nov. 27, 2012, “under suspicion of unwanted touching of a male adult.”