2nd Ex-Blackhawks Prospect Sues Team Over Sexual Assault Allegations

CHICAGO — A second member of the Chicago Blackhawks’ Black Aces squad from the 2010 Stanley Cup championship season is suing the franchise, alleging that former video coach Brad Aldrich groomed, threatened, and sexually abused the player.

The former player, who is identified in the lawsuit as “John Doe” was a teammate of Kyle Beach, who filed a lawsuit against the Hawks in 2021, claiming that like this new plaintiff, he was sexually abused by Beach and that the Hawks did nothing in response.

The lawsuit was filed on Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court by Chicago law firm Romanucci and Blandin. The suit accuses the Blackhawks of conducting an institutional cover-up to protect Aldrich. The Blackhawks are named as the sole defendant in the suit and the plaintiff is seeking a jury trial to provide justice for the harm done to the former player, the law firm said in a news release issued on Sunday.

The suit maintains that the former player — who is now playing professionally overseas — was called up to the Hawks’ Black Aces squad after beginning the season with the franchise’s American Hockey League team. In the suit, the former player alleges that Aldrich made overt gestures to touch and rub up against the player and claimed that he could improve the player’s prosects with the Blackhawks.

The suit also alleges that Aldrich hosted private pool parties at which he played pornography and arranged massages for the former player and also surprised the player while he was engaged in an intimate encounter with a woman and rubbed the former plaintiff’s feet in an effort to join on the encounter, according to the lawsuit.

The suit also maintains that Aldrich offered to pay the former player to receive sexual favors if Aldrich could watch and also sent him photos of his penis. The lawsuit also alleges that Aldrich texted the former player that he could perform oral sex on a man “better than any woman” and then threatened the former player’s career if he reported the coach.

The suit also maintains that Aldrich’s “predatory tendencies” were well-known to the team.

“The Chicago Blackhawks were keeping a dirty secret in 2010 while they enjoyed public accolades and made enormous profits off their team’s Stanley Cup win. Team leaders were very aware they had an abuser on the coaching staff and they ignored their own policies — as well as human decency - and did nothing to report it, remove the abuser, or protect their players,” Antonio M. Romanucci, Romanucci & Blandin founding partner said.

“This lawsuit aims to obtain justice for our client and hold the team accountable for the abuse and cover up that took place and was known within the Blackhawks organization. After the Jenner & Block report that confirmed the abuse took place, the team acknowledged and pledged to be a better organization in the future. How they respond to this new lawsuit will measure if any progress has been made.”

The lawsuit alleges that in May of 2010, John Doe showed a text message he received from Aldrich with a photo of the coach’s penis to then Blackhawks President John McDonough’s secretary. The secretary then reported the incident to team officials, including to then Vice President of Hockey Operations Al MacIsaac.

The lawsuit says that the team did nothing in response and that team officials chose to prioritize the team’s Stanley Cup hopes above player safety. The suit says that the team’s director of Human Resources was not alerted about Aldrich’s alleged behavior until a week after the Hawks won the Stanley Cup.

As in Beach’s 2021 lawsuit, the new suit alleges that even after team officials learned of the allegations against Aldrich made by the former player, the team did nothing for 11 years. It wasn’t until after Beach sued the team did the franchise ordered an independent investigationby the firm Jenner & Block, which found that Aldrich had engaged in sexual misconduct.

In response, former Hawks general manager Stan Bowman resigned as did former coach Joel Quenneville, who was coaching the Florida Panthers at the time. The Hawks were fined $2 million by the NHL for what was determined to be the team’s “inadequate procedures and insufficient and untimely response.”

Six months after Beach filed the lawsuit, the Blackhawks and Beach's attorney announced they had reached a confidential settlement.

"It is difficult to explain the incredible impact this type of abuse has on a person and the challenges it creates for their mental health, relationships, and career. Our client’s professional aspirations were weaponized by this abuser who groomed and manipulated the young player for his own gratification and then threatened to destroy our client’s lifelong ambition to play professional hockey in the NFL,” said Senior Attorney Jason J. Friedl, representing the former player in the new lawsuit.

“As is common with survivors of sexual assault, it has taken this player some time to come to grips with what happened, and to prepare to advocate for himself with those responsible. We are immensely proud of the courage our client has demonstrated in coming forward.”