Photo Minas Panagiotakis/NHLI via Getty Images

Bill Guerin, Penguins' Mario Lemieux, Ron Burkle Defendants in Sexual Assault Lawsuit

Joseph Zucker

Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin and Pittsburgh Penguins owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle will be named as defendants in a sexual assault lawsuit, according to a statement in advance of the filing Tuesday.

Erin Skalde has said she was sexually assaulted by then-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins coach Clark Donatelli:

"The lawsuit will state that sexual abuse took place on a team road trip to Providence, Rhode Island on November 11, 2018, and that the team's handling of the incident included [Skalde's husband] Jarrod being told to keep quiet by organization management, Erin being called a liar and never being interviewed as part of the team's investigation, along with Jarrod being fired from the organization."

TSN's Rick Westhead reported in December 2020 that Jarrod Skalde had filed a suit in a Pennsylvania U.S. District Court alleging that Donatelli assaulted Erin, his wife, while they were on a road trip.

Westhead shared details from the lawsuit: "Mrs. Skalde tried to fight off his sexual advances and told him to stop, but to no avail, as Mr. Donatelli escalated his attack, including reaching his hands into Mrs. Skalde’s shirt and repeatedly touching her breasts."

Donatelli then allegedly suggested that he ride with Erin in the back of the car the group arranged to take back to their hotel. Donatelli allegedly touched her breasts again and "forced his hands down her pants."

The Skaldes alerted Guerin, who was the Penguins' assistant GM and in charge of their AHL affiliate at the time, but they said Guerin instructed them to refrain from speaking about the allegations.

Donatelli and Guerin both declined to comment on the matter to Westhead, while the Penguins filed a motion to dismiss the suit.

Guerin later issued a statement in response to Westhead's article: "When I learned of these allegations, I promptly brought them to Pittsburgh Penguins senior management. The allegations were quickly investigated. I emphatically deny anything to the contrary."

Westhead reported on Oct. 22 the U.S. Center for SafeSport began investigating how Guerin responded to the Skaldes' allegations. In addition to his duties with the Wild, the 50-year-old is an assistant GM for Team USA's 2022 Olympic men's hockey team.

On Oct. 29, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Athletic's Michael Russo that the league doesn't believe this is a "Chicago situation." Daly added that league officials haven't seen evidence indicating Guerin "at any time neglected his reporting duties or failed to follow up appropriately on (the) reported concerns."

By referencing a "Chicago situation," Daly alluded to the ongoing fallout from the NHL and the Chicago Blackhawks' failure to thoroughly investigate allegations of sexual assault made by former player Kyle Beach against then-Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010.

The NHL fined the franchise $2 million following an investigation into its handling of the allegations. General manager Stan Bowman and senior vice president of hockey operations Al MacIsaac also resigned from their roles with the team.

   

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