Chicago Blackhawks Assaults: The Aftermath

 

The Chicago Blackhawks organization pushed sexual assaults under the rug in 2010 that occurred inside its organization. Stan Bowman “stepped down” as GM after the recent investigation of the Blackhawks organization. VP Al MacIsaac has also stepped down from the organization.  There are multiple other members and former members of the Blackhawks organization that knew of these assaults and hid them. These people are employed by their organizations at the moment. But the fallout of this recent investigation should and may be felt very soon.

Former Blackhawks coach and current Florida Panthers coach Joel Quenneville is one of the key people involved in the cover-up of Aldrich’s sexual assaults. In July of this year, Quenneville claimed he first learned of these assault allegations from the media. However, according to the recent investigation. Quenneville knew of the sexual assaults going on in the organization. Quenneville even gave Video Coach Brad Aldrich a good review in the 2010 season. Therefore enabling Aldrich's actions. This review was after Quenneville was notified of the allegations. 

Needless to say. Joel Quenneville put winning and his reputation over what is morally right. Gary Bettman has scheduled meetings with Quenneville and Kevin Cheveldayoff to determine if they knew of the allegations during their time with the Blackhawks. And if they both tried to cover up what Aldrich was doing. Based on what Quenneville did and his backtracking on what he said, it is safe to say that Quenneville helped hide what occurred in the 2010 season. 

(On assault charges) “I think we try to eliminate all distractions” 

(Learning about the Aldrich assaults) “We (Blackhawks) cannot deal with this issue right now”

-Joel Quenneville in 2010 (From Investigative Report) 

Kevin Cheveldayoff was a member of the Chicago Blackhawks front office when the Aldrich assaults occurred. According to the report, there was a meeting involving front office members in 2010 regarding the assaults. Kevin Cheveldayoff was in this meeting, and he did not speak out against the decision to hide the allegations. Cheveldayoff is not as guilty as Quenneville, but he was content in being a bystander to what was going on. 

Cheveldayoff is currently the GM for the Winnipeg Jets. 

Gary Bettman and the rest of the NHL have to make important decisions regarding the employment of both Quenneville and Cheveldayoff. According to the report, both of these men are guilty of hiding what was going on. Assuming this is true, neither of them should be in the NHL anymore. The aftermath of Bettman’s meetings with both Quenneville and Cheveldayoff will be telling on what will happen to both of these people. Both Quenneville and Cheveldayoff must be held accountable for their actions (inaction in this case). 

Pressure is also on the Florida Panthers and Winnipeg Jets to do the right thing. Fire both of these men from their positions of power. If one of or neither of them are fired. Then both Florida and Winnipeg are showing that they are content with sexual assault. In addition to allowing scandals to be swept under the carpet. 

The other members involved with hiding the Aldrich assaults were former CEO John McDonough and VP Jay Blunk. Neither of these men is with any NHL organization anymore. McDonough was fired by chairman Rocky Wirtz in April. Blunk left the Blackhawks on his own in September of this year. It is very doubtful that either of these men acquire any jobs in the NHL after this incident, and rightfully so.

Rocky Wirtz and the Wirtz family claim that they did not know of the allegations before the lawsuits were filed. It is doubtful that this is true, but there is no way of knowing unless further investigation happens. 

The Blackhawks organization has gotten a 2 million dollar fine from the NHL because of the assaults. Unfortunately, this is merely a slap on the wrist for ownership. The NHL must hold the Blackhawks accountable by taking away draft picks and potentially even more punishments. While also indirectly holding the other organizations accountable in the future for their actions. 

With only the fine, the NHL is essentially saying. “If you want to hide serious immoral and criminal activity in your organization, then, by all means, it is ok with us.” 

It sets a poor precedent for the rest of the NHL organizations. Even if Quenneville and Cehveldayoff are both fired, the ramifications of what happened are still not harsh enough. And incidents like this will continue to occur unless the NHL holds these people and the Blackhawks organization fully accountable for their actions.