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The NHL Has Failed to Protect Survivors

content warning: sexual assault

In an interview with TSN on October 27, Kyle Beach bravely came forward as the plaintiff in a sexual assault lawsuit against the Chicago Blackhawks. Beach, previously named as ‘John Doe 1’ in legal documents, filed the suit against Chicago for failing to punish the team’s former video coach, Brad Aldrich, after he sexually assaulted Beach in 2010.

Beach’s case speaks not only to the toxic culture of silence in professional hockey that enables abuse, but to a general lack of accountability within the National Hockey League (NHL). Kyle Beach was a 2008 first-round draft pick, and a part of Chicago’s team during their Stanley Cup victory in 2010. The assault that Beach described took place in May of that year during Chicago’s playoff run, and was notably brought to the attention of senior staff on the team shortly after it occurred. Al MacIsaac, then-director of hockey operations for Chicago, was informed that there was a sexual encounter between Beach and Aldrich, which Beach explicitly characterized as non-consensual. On May 23, 2010, Chicago’s senior management – their Head Coach, President, General Manager, Assistant General Manager, and Mental Skills Coach – held a meeting to discuss the ensuing course of action. For them, the decision was disgustingly simple: until they had won the Stanley Cup, they would do nothing. Senior management deliberately chose the “win-at-all-costs” logic; in a more recent interview, then-general manager Stan Bowman recalled head coach Joel Quenneville’s words during the meeting: “it was hard for the team to get to where they were, and they could not deal with this issue now.” In doing so, they decided that the health and safety of their players came secondary to taking home the Cup.

Following this meeting, senior management waited three whole weeks to contact Chicago’s human resources head – a delay “that violated the organization’s sexual harassment policy,” according to the Associated Press. During the interim, Aldrich continued to work and travel with the team. When HR finally did talk to Aldrich, it  was after they gave him the option to either undergo an investigation or resign. Aldrich chose to resign and relocate, and as such received severance pay, a playoff bonus, championship ring, and his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. In his interview with TSN, Beach recounted the impact of seeing Aldrich allowed to hoist the cup even after he had reported the assault: “it made me feel like nothing. It made me feel like I didn’t exist. It made me feel like, that I wasn’t important and…it made me feel like he was in the right and I was wrong.” There were absolutely no material consequences for Aldrich’s actions, and he went on to work as the Miami (Ohio) University’s director of hockey operations. While in this position, Aldrich sexually assaulted two more people – a Miami student who worked at the rink and a summer hockey camp intern. Following his resignation from this position (presumably related to the assaults), Aldrich assaulted a high school student while working as a volunteer high school hockey coach. This incident was investigated by the police, and while Aldrich was convicted of criminal sexual conduct and sentenced to jail time, the Chicago Blackhawks management team was extremely unhelpful in the course of the investigation. When the police contacted Chicago HR for information on Aldrich, the director refused to divulge any details beyond the fact that he had resigned. Although practically everyone in leadership positions within the Chicago organization knew about the assault, they failed to take any action. This resulted not only in the further ostracization of Beach by teammates, who Beach said knew about and commonly referenced the assault, but also to Aldrich continuing to assault people over whom he held power.  By allowing Aldrich to resign, Chicago actively enabled further abuse.

Chicago’s enabling of abuse is indicative of larger problems within the world of professional hockey. Allegations of abuse are often swept under the rug, justified by a drive for a winning team. Additionally, Chicago stood firmly behind their star player Patrick Kane in 2010 when he was accused of sexual assault. Although the complainant eventually withdrew charges, the team allowed Kane to attend training camp while he was under investigation. When the press attempted to question Kane, management insisted that journalists stick to “hockey only.” League commissioner Gary Bettman repeatedly tried to dodge questions regarding Kyle Beach from journalists during a recent press conference, and defended his decision to give Chicago a fine less than one previously issued for a salary cap violation. Bettman also allowed Joel Quenneville, the coach who failed to act on Beach’s 2010 allegations, to coach a game after Beach identified himself publicly, all for the sanctity of ‘the game’. The NHL continues to prioritize profit over the health and safety of its players, and while it claims to have concrete sexual abuse policy, this policy has yet to be seen by the public, and yet to result in an appropriate investigation and restoration process for survivors. Calls to “stick to hockey” are widely reproduced whenever players attempt to bring the toxic culture of professional hockey to light, whether it be in response to sexism, racism, or as in this case, sexual assault.

When survivors do try to come forward, they are faced with ostracization and an overall lack of institutional protection. The consensus seems to be that while instances of abuse are widely-known by teammates, coaches, and staff, this knowledge never results in consequences for abusers. In 2020, 14 previous junior hockey players launched a class action lawsuit against the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), alleging disturbing and continuous hazing rituals, including forms of mental, physical, and sexual abuse. These claims are graphic, and focus on how the CHL has perpetuated a toxic environment that condones violence, discrimination, physical and sexual abuse, all on the underage players they are supposed to protect. This is a culture that encourages and rewards silence – one where everyone is aware of the abuse that occurs without taking action against it, all because taking action might threaten the pursuit of victory. With Kyle Beach, numerous players and staff were aware of the allegations. Instead of intervening, staff delayed action, all while teammates reportedly “teased” Beach about the assault, even using homophobic slurs to further alienate him.

Hockey, particularly among professionals, puts winning above everything. Gretchen Kerr, a professor at the University of Toronto who researches athlete maltreatment, observes that the league needs to shift to focus less on winning and more on players’ wellbeing. Kyle Beach’s case highlights the deliberate choice to put the playoff win above the individual. Abuses this severe require sustained, structural change. While the current abuse reporting system within the NHL has “no oversight, transparency, or accountability,” calls have already been made for the league to see a neutral third party investigate future cases of abuse. Concrete measures that protect player safety over league profit are long overdue.

When asked about the future, Kyle Beach responded: “I don’t know when it’s going to be enough for the NHL to step in and say enough is enough and take the necessary steps and take the necessary action to make a difference and protect the players that make the NHL what it is.” The NHL has a responsibility to change, and to change now. Those in power – whether it be the league commissioner, general managers, franchise owners, or the myriad of other senior management and staff – have to stop sweeping allegations under the rug in pursuit of victory. Concrete and transparent reporting and investigation processes with third-party oversight have to be implemented to ensure this never happens again. If the league doesn’t change now, there is no question that abuses, of this kind and others, will continue.