The Chicago Blackhawks Scandal Expands as the Coach of the Top Team in the League Steps Down – Opinion

After many years spent investigating the Chicago Blackhawks’ sexual assault scandal, the league is finally coming to an end.

Brad Aldrich (the Chicago Blackhawks video coach) was reported by management to have sexually assaulted one of his young players in 2010. Aldrich is alleged to have forced the player into sex and threatened his future career if he did not. According to reports, the claims were made by Aldrich to management. The organization however chose not to speak out as they were in the middle of a Stanley Cup run and the team was still in playoffs. Aldrich was confronted only after the season and offered the chance to resign, rather than undergo an investigation.

John Doe became the player and filed a lawsuit against team after years of being ineffective. This sparked a long investigation which resulted into the publication of the full report. On Tuesday, the team held a press conference to announce the report’s findings, also announcing that General Manager Stan Bowman and senior vice president of hockey operations Al MacIsaac would be leaving the team. These were the last executives of that time who participated in the research. The report ended their careers with the team. Bowman also has resigned as an executive at USA Hockey.

On Wednesday, John Doe came forward — former Blackhawks player Kyle Beach. He explained more of what he went through while a team member, saying Tuesday’s release was the justification he had long looked for. “It’s a tremendous feeling of relief and vindication.,” Beach told Canada’s TSN sports network regarding the findings. “It was no longer my word against everybody else’s.” Beach is playing professional hockey in Germany.

One of the lingering questions after Tuesday’s press conference is how this would affect the head coach of the Blackhawks that season, Joel Quenneville. He returned to coaching years after leaving the team. This month, he began his third season as a coach for the Florida Panthers. He has continued to guide the team in the same way and helped build it into a contender. On Wednesday night, he was at the bench when the team won. The Panthers remain undefeated at 7-0, while he leads the league with many statistics.

Quenneville long claimed that he wasn’t aware of Beach’s issue. He stated that the first time he heard about the incident was in this summer when the announcement was made that an investigation would be taking place. Tuesday’s release, however, had a strong indication that the coach had to have been in the communication chain that year. Wednesday, it was announced that following the Panthers’ victory over Boston, Quenneville was to fly to New York and meet with league commissioner Gary Bettman.

Two-hour conferences were held between them, then the official announcement was made on Thursday evening: Quenneville has decided to quit the sport as a consequence of this investigation.

Today, the Florida Panthers announced that Joel Quenneville, Head Coach of the team has been fired.

An interim head coach announcement will be forthcoming.https://t.co/h6Bv3OVdFk

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) October 29, 2021

Joel Quenneville was a good candidate to one day be inducted into the Hall of Fame as a coach. However, it is still to be seen if that will prove too difficult for the league. These scandalous elements mirror the Penn State situation, where Jerry Sandusky was exposed to have engaged in similar long-term abuses. It was the end of Joe Paterno’s career, and the university took many years to regain its national fame.

Also, the Kyle Beach tale will be examined at a league level. Aldrich was allowed by the league to end his season. He received both a salary as well Stanley Cup bonuses. He was allowed to continue his high school career, even though he had been relatively unscathed. Years later, Aldrich was accused of abusing another teenager. This incident has led to another lawsuit against the Blackhawks, which will be viewed as evidence of his guilt.

Many are questioning the league’s priorities after it imposed a $2 million fine on the Chicago franchise. Due to the abuse coverup, a $2million fine was imposed. The NHL imposed a higher penalty than usual on teams for violating the salary cap infraction ten years ago. This is indicative of a misplaced sense about priorities. This payroll violation cost the New Jersey Devils $3 million.

This will make it clear that the Blackhawks’ fine for the violation of their rules will be dealt with quickly. Sean Shapiro is a reporter for The Atlantic about hockey business. He explains how the Blackhawks will be able quickly to pay the fine. The punishment will be served in one home match.

Something else on this, to give you an idea of what $2 million means to an NHL team — the Blackhawks make more than $2 million on a single home game. https://t.co/mGH5M3JNhl

— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) October 26, 2021