Blackhawks owner asks NHL to remove disgraced coach's name from Stanley Cup: report
Rocky Wirtz wrote letter to the NHL asking it to remove Brad Aldrich’s name from Stanley Cup
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Chicago Blackhawks reportedly took another step in hopes of distancing themselves from former video coach Brad Aldrich in the wake of an investigation that determined the organization seemingly ignored accusations he sexually assaulted a player.
Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz wrote a letter to the NHL asking the league to remove Aldrich’s name from the Stanley Cup, ESPN reported Friday. Aldrich was a part of the team when it won the Cup in 2010.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Chairman "Rocky" Wirtz of the Chicago Blackhawks smiles during the 2017 NHL Draft at United Center on June 24, 2017, in Chicago, Illinois. (Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)
"Aldrich’s involvement with the team during the 2010 season has cast a pall on the players’ extraordinary work that year. The names of some of hockey’s most talented athletes appear on the Stanley Cup," Wirtz wrote. "But so does the name ‘Brad Aldrich’ whose role as video coach made him eligible for the engraving. His conduct disqualified him, however, and it was a mistake to submit his name. We are sorry we allowed it to happen.
"I am humbly requesting that the Hockey Hall of Fame consider ‘x-ing’ out his name on the Stanley Cup. While nothing can undo what he did, leaving his name on the most prestigious trophy in sports seems profoundly wrong."
Wirtz cited Aldrich’s 2013 conviction of fourth-degree criminal sexual assault involving a minor and later sentencing to nine months in jail. He’s also listed on the Michigan sex offender registry.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The 2010 Stanley Cup Championship banner during a ceremony before the Chicago Blackhawks' season home-opening game against the Detroit Red Wings at the United Center on Oct. 9, 2010, in Chicago, Illinois. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
"Out of respect to each and every player who sacrificed to earn their place in history and on the Stanley Cup, our request is based on principle and our moral belief that a convicted sex offender does not belong on the Stanley Cup," he wrote.
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An independent review detailed in 107 pages how senior leaders of the Blackhawks seemingly ignored the sexual assault accusations raised with the franchise days before the team won the Stanley Cup in 2010. Kyle Beach, who revealed himself to be John Doe in the report, alleged in 2010 he was a victim of sexual assault by Aldrich.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}According to the report, the encounter between Beach and Aldrich occurred on May 8 or 9, 2010. Beach told investigators that Aldrich threatened him with a souvenir baseball bat before forcibly performing oral sex on him and masturbating on the player’s back, allegations that were detailed in lawsuit earlier this year. Aldrich told investigators the encounter was consensual.
Reid Schar, a former federal prosecutor who led the investigation, said there was no evidence that anything was done about the accusations before the team’s human resources was contacted on June 14, 2010. Schar also said the accounts of the meeting "vary significantly."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The investigation revealed that Aldrich continued to work for those three weeks and that the former coach also "made an unwanted sexual advance" toward an intern.
Beach revealed himself to be John Doe in the case in an interview with TSN. He said he felt "alone in the dark" in the days following the alleged assault and said he’s only now beginning the healing process.
"I reported this, and I was made aware that it made it all the way up the chain of command by (mental skills coach Jim Gary), and nothing happened. It was like his life was the same as the day before. Same every day," Beach said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Kyle Beach of the Chicago Blackhawks skates in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the NHL Rookie Tournament on Sept. 14, 2010, at the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
"And then when they won, to see him paraded around lifting the Cup, at the parade, at the team pictures, at celebrations, it made me feel like nothing."
A former student whom Aldrich was convicted of assaulting filed a lawsuit against the Blackhawks in May, alleging the organization provided positive references to future employers of Aldrich despite the allegations. The student said he was a hockey player at a Michigan high school when Aldrich sexually assaulted him at an end-of-season gathering.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Aldrich was convicted of the 2013 crime.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.