Show me where any law was broken by anyone but Aldrich. The Hawks front office was guilty of being a55holes, but they had no legal obligation to report this to the police since KB was not a minor. They should have conducted an investigation. They should have supported Kyle. They should have fired Aldrich. And they definitely should NOT have let Aldrich anywhere near the Stanley Cup.

Had they conducted an investigation, maybe they would have sent the results to the proper authorities. Maybe they would have supported Beach. Unfortunately, we'll never know. For that, I place 99.9% of the blame on McD.

As for the players, I'm still not sure what to think about them. When Sopel and Boynton say "everyone knew," are they referring to the actual assault of Beach, or just that Aldrich was gay? As others have previously mentioned, was it just in Kyle's head (understandable after having just been recently assaulted) that players knew, and targeted him? Maybe everyone was getting the same basic treatment, but because of what he went through, Beach felt singled out. You could hardly blame KB for thinking that, but that doesn't make his teammates automatically guilty of anything resembling a cover-up. That also isn't excusing players of using homophobic slurs, but we all know that sort of talk in locker rooms is (or at least was) common.
- tvetter

It's quite likely that they DIDN'T know the gory details. Just that he went to Aldrich's apartment (keep in mind Beach had a history with alcohol) got drunk and let a dude suck him off

Think about the way we hear rumours as they go around. Had I heard that, and didn't hear anything about an assault, just that my teammate got sucked off by the gay video guy, I'd have probably taken some laughs and some shots too. Especially given I'm sure the thought of Aldrich physically forcing himself on Beach seems impossible to a fully grown NHL hockey player. Put yourself in the players shoes here

No disrespect to Mr. Beach, not slighting his story or the validity behind it, just wondering, how exactly does someone force you to let them perform oral sex on you. Are we all to believe that you couldn't walk out of the room/house? This was not a case of a man dominating a woman physically. Again, I do not doubt that it happened, I just doubt that Mr. Beach had NO means t stop or prevent it. GET BACK TO HOCKEY NEWS ON THE PAGE...THIS IS NATIONAL ENQUIRER BS.

Just so I am following correctly, some posters really think that the players should have gone to Rocky's office and said they heard a rumor about the video coach banging a player? You really think an agent would advise his client to do that? You want players to have that much power over the organization?

This is a sad situation, but what is really upsetting is the response from some fans. Absolutely clueless.
- powerenforcer

Yes

Toews should have gone straight to Wirtz's office and started tipping over tables, hanging him by his ankles over the balcony, threatening not to play, rounding up his teammates for a strike outside the United Center, holding a national press conference, all during the Stanley Cup Playoffs

Anything less than that makes him a bad guy who deserves to be cancelled

Interesting stuff Rico, especially the first link and this excerpt from it which would have been in 2010-11 and after the incident with Aldrich occurred...

A lot of words have been used to describe Beach in his first season in the AHL. The terms "lazy," "stupid," "bad penalties" and "uncommitted" seem to keep popping up.

Beach is reported to have been unfocused, uninterested and prone to taking terrible penalties at the worst of times.

Beach was considered the Blackhawks' top prospect going into last season, but his struggles in Rockford caused him to get passed over as a call-up. Other prospects like Jeremy Morin, Rob Klinkhammer and Ben Smith were some of the IceHogs to receive a call-up before Beach.

More importantly, Beach wasn't called up to the Blackhawks for the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which says a lot about what the organization's opinion of Beach is at this point in time.

This has led people to seriously question Beach's potential to reach the NHL level and consequently, caused some speculation about what the Blackhawks will do with him.
- HawkintheD

Can't say I remember that well but do remember Beach dropped to the Hawks cuz of the concerns you copied and pasted. Saw him in camp and thought big dude, soft hands, nimble feet in small spaces although skating was an issue IIRC. W ith his package of skills if he could skate he'd be top 5 material in the Svechnikov mold.

Guess the piece was written after the monster had gotten to Beach. In fact when it was made public he was John Doe I thought of all people this dude already known to be a kind of loose cannon was the last person to be able to handle this but God bless Beach 11 yrs later and he's still playing pro.

A Tallon draft pick.

Toews’ comments yesterday were kind of tone-deaf, but he always seems to be very guarded in what he says - I don’t ever get the feeling that he’s speaking from “the heart”, but more to minimize any damage that could come out.

Kane usually is more open (notwithstanding that presser in 2015 with McDonough sitting there). His comments yesterday were certainly more sympathetic than those of Toews.

But yesterday must have been hard on both of them (without trying to minimize the hurt that Beach has been feeling): Bowman and Quenneville had been with them for all (in Bowman’s case) and most (in Quenneville’s) of their careers - probably the two people in the organization closest to them. Talking about how two affected their careers and lives, and expressing the sadness about what did (and could) happen to them - I think it was a natural response to the situation.

I, of course, have no idea about what they did and didn’t know 11 years ago - or what they should or couldn’t have known then - or about the razzing the Beach apparently was (most unfortunately) forced to endure.
- StLBravesFan

Sage nails the essence of empathy.

No disrespect to Mr. Beach, not slighting his story or the validity behind it, just wondering, how exactly does someone force you to let them perform oral sex on you. Are we all to believe that you couldn't walk out of the room/house? This was not a case of a man dominating a woman physically. Again, I do not doubt that it happened, I just doubt that Mr. Beach had NO means t stop or prevent it. GET BACK TO HOCKEY NEWS ON THE PAGE...THIS IS NATIONAL ENQUIRER BS.
- Chisoxhawk

Beach's story doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Media is just too cowardly to question it

Because the date of the event is in question, witness statement from the unnamed woman puts her in Aldrich's apartment playing strip poker with Beach and Aldrich to the point they were all naked, and then both guys performed oral on her. Then she left.

She stated that she waited for 45 minutes in the lobby for a taxi while Beach and Aldrich remained in the apartment, at that point, both naked

This is contradictory to Beach's statement that she never entered the apartment and instead was walked to the elevator by Beach upon arrival. I just don't see a reason why this unnamed woman would lie

What happened after that, despite Beach's claims, is a he said/he said

Did Mitchell look that bad (of course anyone is going to look bad paired with Gus), or is this to get him more reps at Rockford. Interesting Phillips was recalled ahead of Beaudin or Galvis? Or are the Hawks looking for more size at the back end.
- LAHawk

I agree Gus is brutal, but it looked like to me Mitchell was the only dman to follow the puck out to the blue line vs Toronto.

Let's talk some hockey and curtail this Beachbstuff until more developments occur with ot

I am looking at future Blackhaw improvement. I think they have their $1 '22 lottery protected if it turns out to be firstvir second after the lottery picks is determined. So a big perhaps I s we could get an early look at our top prospect Reichel
Let us see how bisxxe a on h goes in thevAzhL. That team has to do something about its SOG against Anyway, I see Slavin, a big boy, an industrial center according to Theo, has been on his line. Perhaps we can get an NHL glimpse of an all rookie line. Add Teply? Or substitute Hardman? I would not be surprisedvif Barret even Altybarmaken get a
look though not on a line with Reichel.

This rookie line may be balanced enough to compete NHL

I agree Gus is brutal, but it looked like to me Mitchell was the only dman to follow the puck out to the blue line vs Toronto.
- BetweenTheDots

Your team would have Dmen tethered to the posts.

Your team would have Dmen tethered to the posts.
- Elbows15

Not really, but i like how Vegas and Avs do it. Something similar

Not really, but i like how Vegas and Avs do it. Something similar
- BetweenTheDots

It will be interesting to see if the style of play changes in the next 5 games due to the shake-up at the top. JC can't be too comfortable ATM.

Reaction if he were my son.....

1st - I would seriously consider ending Aldrich, but a maiming at least.

2nd - serious beating for Gary for telling my kid it was his fault.

3rd - mid-level beating for any "teammate" who hazed him.

4th - normal beating for McD for putting The Brand over my kid. And for having a raging case of Jerk Face.

5th - punch in the jaw for Q.

That's all.
- mohel

I admit there is a small part of me that wonders why Beach didn't pummel the guy in the daysafter the incident. If anything, hopefully it helps people understand how truly devastating cases like this are to the victim.

Not really, but i like how Vegas and Avs do it. Something similar
- BetweenTheDots

Interesting, you are aware that guys like Pietro, Theodore, Makar, Byram and even E. Johnson lead the rush up the ice quite frequently?

It will be interesting to see if the style of play changes in the next 5 games due to the shake-up at the top. JC can't be too comfortable ATM.
- tvetter

I actually think JC is now safe for a bit. If only to give the interim GM time to get his feet under him.

Also, I'm glad they did the investigation, and I hope Beach can get the support he needs to move forward, but I bet the Hawks wish they would have settled this "meritless" lawsuit before it ever became public!

Here’s my $0.02 on how it should have been handled, unfortunately I have terminated some long term employees in my career. Once the incident is reported, you cannot assume that the predator is guilty.
1. You send the accused home, cannot report to work until notified.
2. You prioritize the investigation, with a target of said investigation to be completed within 72 hours.
3. If accused is found guilty after investigation, accused is asked to report to management.
4. Once accused reports, you inform him of investigation results and inform him of employment termination.
5. Security follows him to collect personal belongings and walks him off premises.
6. NHL, NHLPA, and police are notified of results of investigation.
7. Victim is sent to counseling and management should follow up every couple of days with victim.
If the investigation would have been completed in a timely manner, management would have determined that it was not actually harassment, but assault.
- Angotti

Exactly and to be clear, most companies have a clear policy I don't know if it's law once any manager is notified of harassment/assault they would be unable to make that call which it is they are required to report it to HR and their manager.

Any person who is a manager must do this. Not employees who in this case are players.

Can't believe some of the comments by "fans".

Wouldn't be saying these things if it was their children, brother, father.

Glad there are some respectable Blackhawk fans though.
- DirtyDan

The same question can be asked of the victim (Beachs’) family. What did they do? Why didn’t they contact the authorities? Why wait until the statute of limitations ran out?

If, this were my son, I would have called CPD the moment I heard the accusation.

The accusations are more than just sexual assault but the claim that the organization betrayed him and did nothing to help him.

If the organization you worked for did this to you, would you wait? Hell no. Your going to expose them for everything they did.

Lots of questions surround this.

I admit there is a small part of me that wonders why Beach didn't pummel the guy in the daysafter the incident. If anything, hopefully it helps people understand how truly devastating cases like this are to the victim.
- Elbows15

My first thought too was why didn’t Beach just beat the (frank) out of the guy but I have read that perpetrators know how to identify vulnerabilities in their victims and exploit them. Hopefully Aldrich gets what’s coming to him.

Let's think this through for a moment. Who are the players supposed to report this to (if they knew about it when it was happening)? Coach? GM? President of Hockey Operations? HR? Owner? It seemed like the coach, GM and Pres did know about this. I do not know how you can blame the players for this failure. Thinking about where I work, I would notify my supervisor, and then I would hope that it would be taken up from there. So those of you who say Toews, Kane, Keith are jacking this around, it is not their issue to resolve. They are not paid to make HR decisions.
- powerenforcer

I agree with some of your points.....however I have serious (not trying to troll here) question

Is it not their responsibility to show leadership?

Going by Toews own comments, he found out about it in the following training camp.

As captain did he ever check in with Kyle?
Did he ever tell the team to “lay off”/ “back off”?
Did he do ANYTHING at all to be helpful? To be a leader?

According to Kyle, he was bullied AFTER in the locker room, arena, etc. That would mean he was being bullied AFTER Toews knew what transpired and apparently did nothing, said nothing.

I admit there is a small part of me that wonders why Beach didn't pummel the guy in the daysafter the incident. If anything, hopefully it helps people understand how truly devastating cases like this are to the victim.
- Elbows15

Aldrich is clearly a predator, Full Stop

But if you believe the woman's account, then the 3 of them were naked playing strip poker (and likely drinking......) and after both performing oral on the woman, and the women leaving, perhaps, just perhaps, a 20 year old Beach was all horned up and Aldrich, admittedly a predator, took advantage of him in his horny and inebriated state

Beyond that, once sobered up, Beach was embarrassed and full of regret. Once word got out, (who knows who talked?)perhaps the teasing about the issue led Beach to report it a week later, perhaps even leaving out some details (Note: When interviewed by the law firm, Beach chose to leave out the ENTIRE part about the woman, the poker, the naked and the oral). I wonder if he perhaps assumed she would never be found after a decade

Plenty of holes in his story, but this does explain why he didn't have to defend himself, or feel the need to "get even" later on

I agree with some of your points.....however I have serious (not trying to troll here) question

Is it not their responsibility to show leadership?

Going by Toews own comments, he found out about it in the following training camp.

As captain did he ever check in with Kyle?
Did he ever tell the team to “lay off”/ “back off”?
Did he do ANYTHING at all to be helpful? To be a leader?

According to Kyle, he was bullied AFTER in the locker room, arena, etc. That would mean he was being bullied AFTER Toews knew what transpired and apparently did nothing, said nothing.
- Bren4Wings

That's kinda the problem when your captain is 20. They were so excited to make the new face of their franchise the "Leader" they never stopped to think of if he was ready for all the other unwritten responsibilities that go beyond playing and visiting the childrens hospital

I'm not at all surprised that a 20 year old was ill equipped to handle this level of drama/scandal

Sage nails the essence of empathy.
- mohel

I agree and I have tried to write a post on 3 separate occasions....and I just can't get past step 1 without getting angry.....

I am torn on what/who I believe knew what, and when....I watched the Beach interview and hearing him talk about it vs reading it in a report....was hard, sad, and aggravating not at Beach but how simple the solution was to fix this asap.....and a president at the time with an ego of infinite size that now will NOT only destroy his professional career....but the careers of so many more......

I hate John McDonough...I hated him after meeting him in person and the more and more time went on you knew, unless you burried your head, his meddling and wanting COMPLETE control over anything and taking credit for the good....and stone walling anyone asking about anything bad.....and if you don't believe the meddling, go look up the athletic article......Paul's dream of a rebuild in 2016 would have been 2 years later but the McDonough stooge nuked that quickly........

I sent Kyle Beach a message on twitter. I give him infinite credit for what he did and the courage it took to out himself, and speak about it and seeing him break down was about as sad a thing I have seen in my life. I hope one day he can find peace.

I always tell all my family, friends the best teammates I had as a kid/young man and adult were my hockey teammates. 99% are solid people, and it's a special niche because it's not a mainstream sport....it gave me such joy in June of 2010 to see kids in my neighborhood playing street hockey, kids wearing gear to school.....finally the best kept secret in American sports was about to take off, and did.....and now all those people feel stained because a piece of human trash couldn't put a video coach on a PAID administrative leave in May of 2020 and start an internal investigation right after the cup run.....instead he took the easy way out.....F John McDonough....that my fellow posters WAS the play.

Maybe he should throw himself another parade like he did in Elk Grove Village but this time we can throw rotten food at him like a medieval prisoner? Even then....it isn't enough.

That's kinda the problem when your captain is 20. They were so excited to make the new face of their franchise the "Leader" they never stopped to think of if he was ready for all the other unwritten responsibilities that go beyond playing and visiting the childrens hospital

I'm not at all surprised that a 20 year old was ill equipped to handle this level of drama/scandal
- TheGame316

How do you suggest Toews should have handled it?

I agree with some of your points.....however I have serious (not trying to troll here) question

Is it not their responsibility to show leadership?

Going by Toews own comments, he found out about it in the following training camp.

As captain did he ever check in with Kyle?
Did he ever tell the team to “lay off”/ “back off”?
Did he do ANYTHING at all to be helpful? To be a leader?

According to Kyle, he was bullied AFTER in the locker room, arena, etc. That would mean he was being bullied AFTER Toews knew what transpired and apparently did nothing, said nothing.
- Bren4Wings

And this is where your entire point falls on it's face - Kyle Beach played ZERO games in the NHL, so Toews wasn't around. All his bullying and incidents happened in the AHL.

My first thought too was why didn’t Beach just beat the (frank) out of the guy but I have read that perpetrators know how to identify vulnerabilities in their victims and exploit them. Hopefully Aldrich gets what’s coming to him.
- paulr

Where is Aldrich currently?Jail or on bail pending court or what does anyone know?And yes this pos needs to run into a deliverance type jail experience.