Topline
Canadian hockey player Kyle Beach revealed in an interview on TSN Sports Wednesday that he was the player who filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Blackhawks over the team’s handling of his sexual assault allegations against assistant coach Bradley Aldrich.
Chicago Blackhawks Kyle Beach (12) controls the puck in the first period of a preseason NHL hockey ... [+]
Key Facts
Beach said the assault happened a couple of weeks after he was called to play as a “black ace” for the team during the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and said following the incident, he felt “scared” and “alone” and had had his “career threatened.”
He claims he notified team management of what happened, but Aldrich still remained with the team.
Beach said seeing the non-action by the franchise made him feel like Adrich “was in the right” and he “was wrong,” and claimed Jim Gary, the team’s former mental skills coach who retired following the 2020-2021 season, told him it had been his fault because he “put himself in that situation.”
Aldrich, who resigned from the team in 2010, claimed the sexual encounter was consensual in the team’s independent investigation report and has not publicly commented following the release of the report.
Forbes has not been able to reach Aldrich or Gary for comment.
The Chicago Blackhawks released a statement on Twitter following Beach’s interview saying it commended his “courage in coming forward” and wanted to “reiterate our deepest apologies to him” for “the organization’s failure to promptly respond” when he brought the allegations forward.
The organization went on to say it has “implemented numerous changes and improvements” and has hired a “new leadership team” that will follow “the highest ethical, professional, and athletic standards.”
Crucial Quote
“It’s a great feeling of relief, vindication, and it was no longer my word against everybody else’s,” Beach told Rick Westhead in the interview. "I really felt like there were a lot of lies told in the media, and it was very special and important to me to have that truth come out yesterday.”
Key Background
The Chicago Blackhawks announced Tuesday Stan Bowman was out as team general manager following a report released on the findings of an independent investigation on how the franchise handled sexual assault allegations. Al MacIsaac, who was senior vice president of hockey operations for the team, also stepped down Tuesday. The investigation revealed Bowman and other executives, despite being aware of the allegations made against Aldrich, declined to report it to authorities. According to the report, the franchise’s executives, which included Bowman and Blackhawk’s former president John McDonough, met to discuss the allegations against Aldrich after Beach reported it to a counselor. Aldrich left the team and no formal investigation was conducted. Beach, who currently plays hockey in Germany, filed a lawsuit against the franchise in May seeking more than $150,000 in damages from the team.
Further Reading
Chicago Blackhawks’ Stan Bowman Out As GM Amid Investigation Into Sexual Assault Cover-Up (Forbes)
