Blackhawks GM Bowman resigns after sexual assault probe
By JAY COHEN and STEPHEN WHYNO - Oct. 26, 2021 03:01 PM EDT
FILE- In this July 26, 2019, file photo, Chicago Blackhawks senior vice president and general manager Stan Bowman speaks to the media during the NHL hockey team's convention in Chicago. Bowman resigned Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, following an investigation into allegations that an assistant coach sexually assaulted a player in 2010. (AP Photo/Amr Alfiky, File)
FILE- In this July 26, 2019, file photo, Chicago Blackhawks senior vice president and general manager Stan Bowman speaks to the media during the NHL hockey team's convention in Chicago. Bowman resigned Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, following an investigation into allegations that an assistant coach sexually assaulted a player in 2010. (AP Photo/Amr Alfiky, File)
FILE - In this May 3, 2021, file photo, the Chicago Blackhawks logo is displayed on a jersey in Raleigh, N.C. The Blackhawks are holding a briefing Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, to discuss the findings of an investigation into allegations that an assistant coach sexually assaulted a player in 2010. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker, File)
View All (2)

Chicago Blackhawks general manager and president of hockey operations Stan Bowman resigned Tuesday after an investigation commissioned by the team found he was among a group of leaders who failed to respond promptly to allegations that an assistant coach sexually assaulted a player in 2010.

The results of the independent review by Jenner & Block were handed over to the Blackhawks on Monday, and team CEO Danny Wirtz said the report “is both disturbing and difficult to read.”

Former federal prosecutor Reid Schar, who ran the investigation, said Tuesday that Bowman, former team president John McDonough, hockey operations executive Al MacIsaac, former executive vice president Jay Blunk and then-assistant general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff met with then-coach Joel Quenneville and mental skills coach Jim Gary to discuss allegations that then assistant coach Brad Aldrich had assaulted a player.

Schar said accounts of the meeting “vary significantly.”

“What is clear is that after being informed of Aldrich's alleged sexual harassment and misconduct with a player no action was taken for three weeks,” Schar said.

The NFL responded by fining the team $2 million for mishandling the allegations.

The investigation was commissioned by the team after two lawsuits were filed against the Blackhawks: one alleging sexual assault by assistant coach Aldrich during the team’s Stanley Cup run and another filed by a former student whom Aldrich was convicted of assaulting in Michigan. Aldrich left the Blackhawks after the 2009-10 season.

A former player said Aldrich assaulted him, and that the team did nothing after he informed an employee. The lawsuit, filed May 7 in Cook County Circuit Court, alleges Aldrich also assaulted another unidentified Blackhawks player. The former player who sued and is seeking more than $150,000 in damages is referred in the document as “John Doe.”

The eight-page lawsuit says Aldrich, then a video coach for the Blackhawks, “turned on porn and began to masturbate in front of” the player without his consent. It says Aldrich also threatened to “physically, financially and emotionally” hurt the player if he “did not engage in sexual activity” with him.

___

More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports