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Kennedy: Blackhawks’ handling of abuse claims ‘archaic’

PAUL FRIESEN

He has done so much to make sports safer, carried such a weight for being the face of abuse survivors, part of you doesn’t even want to ask Sheldon Kennedy about the latest scandal in hockey.

But you know you should.

His response is a reminder of why he’s about to be inducted as a builder to Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.

Kennedy was on a Zoom call, Tuesday, along with several others who, due to the pandemic, have waited more than a year for their formal inductions.

But instead of simply celebrating his accomplishments, Kennedy was asked to weigh in on the latest sexual-abusein-hockey scandal, this one touching the highest reaches of the game.

The way the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks handled complaints from a player in 2010 alleging he and a teammate were sexually assaulted by the team’s video coach was appalling, Kennedy says.

The Blackhawks, led by GM Stan Bowman, are accused in a lawsuit of covering up the abuse instead of reporting it to police.

And while they let video coach Brad Aldrich go after the season, they’re alleged to have given him a positive job reference that allowed him to continue working with young players, one of whom he was convicted of sexually assaulting three years later.

“It’s the classic response: ‘Don’t say anything, it’s going to fizzle out,’” Kennedy said. “The biggest thing here is there is a teenaged boy who was sexually abused. That’s going to change his life forever, because they (allegedly) didn’t do the right thing. And that is unacceptable. That on its own is enough. It’s just an archaic response.”

Kennedy says the response from the NHL is also rooted in the game’s dark ages, reminding him of the way junior hockey initially handled allegations against former coach Graham James, his abuser years ago.

The league, which promotes itself as a game for everyone, has said little, while the Blackhawks have hired a Chicago lawyer to conduct an investigation, promising to make the results public.

“The approach that’s been taken here is unacceptable, knowing what we know today about how to handle these cases,” Kennedy said.

“Because it sends a very strong message to the rest of the league and those watching and to any kids and families that want to get into the game: don’t dare come forward with anything, because it’s basically our way or the highway.

“It just flies in the face of all that good work that they’re trying to do.”

The Blackhawks are fighting two lawsuits, one filed by their former player and one by a former highschool player in Michigan, who was 16 when Aldrich assaulted him.

Team lawyers have reportedly asked for both suits to be withdrawn, saying management found no merit in the allegations of the former player, while there’s no evidence of a positive job reference claimed in the second suit.

Some former Chicago players have said many people knew of the abuse by Aldrich. Others, including coaches and managers, say they knew nothing.

“It’s eerily similar,” Kennedy said, comparing the silence to that surrounding the James case.

“We tell people to come forward, we’re open, we want to hear it, come tell us. But meanwhile it goes nowhere. The Chicago Blackhawks had a responsibility to follow that up. The problem is with these cases … there are many, many bystanders. There are many people that knew.

“And I don’t believe that this case is any different. We need those people to step up and step in.”

Meanwhile, Bowman continues in his positions, both in charge of an NHL team and as the GM of the U.S. men’s Olympic team.

It’s the kind of systemic response you’d hope we’d be past by now.

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2021-09-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-09-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

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