Blackhawks reportedly did not call police about sexual assault allegations in 2010, and the NHLPA declined to get involved, a former player’s lawyer says

CHICAGO — Chicago Blackhawks senior management allegedly decided against calling police after being informed of two players’ sexual assault allegations against a former video coach, according to a report by TSN’s Rick Westhead, citing an unnamed source.

The attorney representing one of the players in a lawsuit against the Hawks said she was aware of the meeting. “It wasn’t news to me,” attorney Susan E. Loggans told the Chicago Tribune on Friday.

The Hawks did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment from the Tribune, and a team spokesman declined to comment to TSN, citing the ongoing lawsuit.

Loggans added that her client sought help from the NHL Players Association at the time and alleged that “they rebuked him. They did nothing about it.”

Jonathan Weatherdon, NHLPA senior director of communications, declined via email to comment on behalf of the union, “as this matter is subject to pending litigation between the player and his former NHL organization.”

Loggans’ client, a former member of the 2009-10 Stanley Cup championship team, sued the Hawks last month, alleging the team was negligent and refused to act when he brought sexual assault allegations against then-video coach Bradley Aldrich to their attention.

In the suit, the unnamed plaintiff alleges that Aldrich sent inappropriate text messages, turned on porn and masturbated in front of him and threatened him “if plaintiff did not engage in sexual activity.”

The plaintiff said he reported the May 2010 incidents to mental skills coach James Gary but Gary convinced him the encounters were his own fault and the Hawks opted not to take action against Aldrich, according to the complaint.

That same month, according to TSN, senior management held a meeting that included then-Blackhawks President John McDonough, general manager Stan Bowman, vice president of hockey operations Al MacIsaac and Gary. The report states that then-skills coach Paul Vincent told team executives two players had accused Aldrich of sexual assault and requested they contact the sex crimes division of the Chicago police, and that the request was denied.

Loggans said she wasn’t surprised to see new reports about how the team handled the allegations.

“This is what happens in these cases, that people keep quiet and then when they see that it’s coming up they decide that they want to tell the truth,” she said.

In a statement released last month after the lawsuit was filed, the Hawks said that the allegations “lacked merit.” Earlier this week, the Blackhawks filed a motion to dismiss the suit.

Loggans also represents a former Michigan high school hockey player, “John Doe 2,” in a second lawsuit against the Hawks. That suit contends that the team failed to investigate Aldrich when the first plaintiff, “John Doe 1,” and his teammate made sexual assault allegations and that the team also provided positive references about Aldrich to future employers.

Aldrich, who became an assistant coach at Houghton (Mich.) High School, pleaded guilty in December 2013 to having sexual contact with a student who later sued the Blackhawks as John Doe 2. Aldrich was sentenced to nine months in jail and five years of probation and was ordered to register as a sex offender.

John Doe 1 said in his suit that in July 2019 he recalled suppressed memories about Aldrich after learning of the Michigan conviction.

“It’s not about Aldrich’s conduct,” Loggans said. “It’s about the Blackhawks subjecting a young person to the influence of somebody in a control position, namely the video coach, and subjecting the players to a hostile and dangerous environment.

“And they became aware of it and hushed it up so that it wouldn’t interfere their playoff chances and the Stanley Cup.”

In June 2010, the month after the allegations against Aldrich surfaced, the Hawks beat the Philadelphia Flyers in six games to win the first of three championships in a six-year span.

Loggans also said the players union took a hands-off approach to her client’s original complaint.

“He just reported it to them to see if they would assist him in trying to get the Blackhawks to do something,” she said. “He did contact the players association, and they didn’t get involved.”

According to her client, “They said it was between them and the Blackhawks.”

The Hawks’ motion this week to dismiss John Doe 1′s lawsuit is based on arguments that the plaintiff didn’t exhaust all “administrative remedies” under state law and that he allowed various statutes of limitations to lapse.

Attorney Mike Hughes, a partner with Smith Amundsen who works with employers in labor and employment cases, said the Blackhawks “raised some pretty legitimate defenses.”

“None of my analysis goes to whether or not the underlying abuse alleged happened or whether or not the Blackhawks acted appropriately when those issues were raised to the team,” Hughes added. “What they have here are defenses based on civil procedure.”

The Hawks said in their motion that the plaintiff first had to pursue his negligence claim under the Illinois Human Rights Act and Illinois Worker’s Compensation Act.

“If you are sexually harassed by your employer, you can’t just go into court and sue,” Hughes said. “You have to follow the parameters of the Illinois Human Rights Act. You have to file a charge of discrimination with the Illinois Department of Human Rights or the EEOC (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission).”

The John Doe suit alleges that while the assault and the team’s negligence in handling his complaint occurred in 2010, the Hawks “fraudulently concealed” his report and he suppressed the memory of the episode until July 2019.

Loggans said she disagreed with the Hawks’ arguments.

“He has a right to file a civil case regardless of what other remedies available to him,” she said. “There is no legal requirement that you have to do anything before filing a civil case.”

Asked about the Hawks’ statute of limitations argument, she said: “The Catholic Church waived in many cases because they recognize that if in fact a priest did sexually molest people, that they have a moral obligation to compensate them.

“The Blackhawks are just trying to use legal maneuvers to get out of it because they don’t want to accept responsibility for what happened.”