Editorial: The Bradley Aldrich saga, and the disturbing questions it raises about the conduct of the Blackhawks.

Chicago Tribune - 9/14/2021

Fans have every right to wince at the Chicago Blackhawks’ lackluster performance as of late. They’ve reached the playoffs just once in the last four seasons, in 2020, and were bounced in the first round by the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Stanley Cup seasons of 2010, 2013 and 2015? Glory days indeed, but there’s no hint of an imminent reprise.

The Blackhawk faithful, however, should not forgive the lack of transparency and accountability that the team has displayed during the profoundly disturbing saga involving the team’s former video coach, Bradley Aldrich.

The 38-year-old Michigan native is at the center of allegations that he sexually assaulted a Hawks player during the team’s 2010season. That player has filed a lawsuit against the team, claiming it failed to properly investigate and discipline Aldrich, and allowed the wrongful behavior to go undocumented and unchecked. The lawsuit claims another Hawks player had accused Aldrich of sexual misconduct, and that the team failed to act in that case as well. That alleged second player has not filed suit, and has not publicly confirmed that allegation.

Aldrich is now registered as a sex offender in Michigan. He pleaded guilty in December 2013 to a misdemeanor charge of criminal sexual conduct with a 16-year-old boy, a high school hockey player he had coached. The incident happened earlier in 2013 — after Aldrich left the Hawks — and the alleged victim has since also sued the Blackhawks, claiming he was harmed by the team’s handling of the allegations centering on the former Hawks player. And as the Tribune reports, police and employers documented allegations against Aldrich of a sexual nature involving four teenagers and five men following his tenure with the Hawks. Only the case of the 16-year-old boy resulted in charges.

The Tribune’s reporting cast a harsh, needed spotlight on how the Blackhawks handled the allegations made by the player during the 2010 championship run. Paul Vincent, who at the time was a skills coach for the team, learned of the player’s allegations against Aldrich and informed the team’s top executives, including then-team President John McDonough, general manager Stan Bowman, and others. During that meeting, Vincent raised the possibility of notifying police but got no reaction either in support or opposition of the idea. Later in the meeting, Vincent was told by one of the executives, “We’ve got it, you no longer have to worry about this. This is not your responsibility.”

The player was later told by the team’s mental skills coach that the Hawks gave Aldrich the option of either quitting or being investigated, and that Aldrich chose to quit. In an email to the Tribune, the player said, “I was notified that Brad Aldrich chose to quit, so no further investigation” would be carried out.

Though the Hawks said last spring that the former player’s allegations lack merit, they later hired powerhouse law firm Jenner & Block to carry out an independent review of the allegations and how the team handled them. That’s more than a decade after Vincent says top Blackhawk executives were notified of the player’s claims.

The team’s approach also falls far short of what should have been done given the gravity of the allegations. There are valid, unanswered questions about whether the team took the player’s claims seriously, and whether it had the interests of the player — an alleged victim in this case — foremost in mind. Brent Sopel, a former teammate of the player and one of two Hawks who initially informed Vincent about the player’s encounter with Aldrich, told the Tribune, “The Blackhawks never dealt with it, never took care of it.

“They though they were bigger than this,” continued Sopel. “Sometimes doing the right thing isn’t easy. But this is about supporting those guys, those individuals, that this happened to. Their lives have changed forever.”

Sopel is spot on. If the Blackhawks think fans only care about goals, saves and Stanley Cups, they’re dead wrong. How a team handles allegations like this, and how it applies transparency and accountability to that handling, is just as important as power plays and playoff runs. There are lives involved. In this case, some were people allegedly abused when they were teens. It’s important to remember that the incident involving the 16-year-old boy, which led to Aldrich’s guilty plea, occurred after the former Hawks’ player’s allegations surfaced.

Major sports teams have a profound influence on society, particularly on youth and the next generation of athletes. Acting promptly and unflinchingly on such allegations sends a message that victims will be listened to, and justice will be served if the allegations have weight. The Blackhawks have a responsibility not just to win games, but to show their fans, Chicago, and the hockey world that they stand for something more than just glory on the ice. That’s more important than any winning season, even a Stanley Cup.

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