Blackhawks Owner Wirtz 'Crossed The Line' In Town Hall Outburst

CHICAGO — Chicago Blackhawks Chairman Rocky Wirtz apologized for comments he said that “crossed the line” when he was asked during a town hall meeting Wednesday about how the team would move forward after its mishandling of sexual assault allegations against a former video coach.

The team issued the apology in a statement after video went viral of Wirtz berating two Blackhawks beat writers from the Athletic and The Chicago Tribune during a town hall meeting at the United Center. In both cases, Wirtz became angry during a question-and-answer portion of the meeting when he was asked about what they team was doing to protect players more than it did against former prospect Kyle Beach in 2010.

The first question, directed at Hawks CEO Danny Wirtz, was instead answered by Rocky Wirtz who said that the team had already addressed allegations made by Kyle Beach against former video coach Brad Aldrich in a 107-page report issued by law firm Jenner & Block.

The Blackhawks reached a confidential settlement with Beach in December, eight months after the former first-round draft pick sued the team for its handling of his allegations against Aldrich.

The report led to the firing of former Hawks general manager Stan Bowman and other team officials, as well as the resignation of former Hawks coach Joel Quenneville from his job with the Florida Panthers. After the release of the report, Hawks team officials said would be more transparent and would take steps to move forward from its mishandling of the allegations.

When asked about how that would happen Wednesday night, Rocky Wirtz said he wouldn’t talk about Beach, the situation or the report. When asked about how the team was ensuring other players wouldn’t be put in the same position in the future, Wirtz replied, “that’s none of your business.”

When asked by The Athletic reporter why it wasn't his business, Wirtz said that it wasn't the business of someone who didn't work for the team.

"If somebody in the company asks that question, we’ll answer it. And I think you should get on to the next subject," Wirtz said. "We’re not going to talk about Kyle Beach. We’re not going to talk about anything that happened. Now we’re moving on. What more do I have to say? You want to keep asking the same question? Ask the next question.

A Chicago Tribune reporter then followed up with another question before Wirtz continued his angry reply and took a verbal shot at the newspaper’s sports coverage of the team. When the reporter attempted to ask about attendance at Hawks home games, Wirtz asked the reporter if he worked for the team's ticket department before finally allowing another team official to answer the question.

Video of the exchange went viral, prompting the Hawks to issue a statement from Wirtz late Wednesday night.

“I want to apologize to the fans and those reporters, and I regret that my response overshadowed the great work this organization is doing to move forward,” Rocky Wirtz said in the statement. “We have the right leaders and right processes in place to create a safe environment for our employees and players.”

The Chicago Tribune reporter tweeted after the meeting that Danny Wirtz approached him after the meeting and said he would gladly discuss the team’s approach to moving forward and transparency any time he wished.