(670 The Score) The attorney representing an unidentified former Blackhawks player suing the organization over an alleged sexual assault by a former team video coach in 2010 said her client is seeking an admission of wrongdoing from the organization and those involved with an accused coverup.
Susan Loggans, a Chicago-based attorney representing two clients involved in separate lawsuits regarding the matter, told the Parkins & Spiegel Show on Tuesday that whether the case is adjudicated or settled isn't the priority so long as the Blackhawks come forward to take responsibility.
Loggans' two clients are a former Blackhawks player and a former Michigan high school hockey player who both alleged sexual assault by Brad Aldrich, a video coach with the Blackhawks who left the organization after the 2010 Stanley Cup championship season. He later joined the staff of a high school hockey team in Houghton, Michigan.
"What he wants is for the Blackhawks to acknowledge what happened so that other franchises accept the fact that they have to be honest, straightforward and have programs in place to stop this from happening to anybody else," Loggans said of the ex-Blackhawks player's lawsuit. "If that happens and there's a settlement, that's fine for him. He's not out for an eye for an eye. But this has ruined his professional career.
"He does want to be compensated for his losses, but he doesn't care if it's by trial or settlement, as long as people acknowledge what was wrong and there are some systems put in place to protect other young people from this."
The first lawsuit, filed on May 7 in Cook County Circuit Court, alleges Aldrich assaulted two Blackhawks players. The former player who sued is seeking more than $150,000 in damages and is referred to in the document as "John Doe."
In May 2010, two Blackhawks players told then-skills coach Paul Vincent of inappropriate behavior by Aldrich, according to TSN. Vincent said he asked mental skills coach James Gary to follow up with the players and management.
Vincent was called into a meeting with then-team president John McDonough, general manager Stan Bowman, hockey executive Al MacIsaac and Gary the next day. He said he asked the team to report the allegations to Chicago police, and the request was denied.
In an email to the AP, Vincent said he stands by everything he said to TSN. An attorney for Aldrich previously told Chicago public radio station WBEZ that his client denies the allegations in the lawsuit. In a May statement to the radio station, the Blackhawks said the allegations directed at them were groundless.
A second lawsuit has been filed by a former student whom Aldrich was convicted of assaulting in Michigan. After leaving the Blackhawks, Aldrich was convicted in 2013 in Michigan of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a student and is now on that state's registry of sex offenders.
The former student whom Aldrich was convicted of assaulting filed a separate lawsuit against the Blackhawks on May 26, saying the team provided positive references to future employers of Aldrich despite allegations from at least one player and took no action to report the matter.
Loggans said she has five to 10 former Blackhawks players who are willing to go on record and verify the allegations from 2010. The Blackhawks hired a former federal prosecutor to lead what they internally called an independent review of the accusations. The NHL is deferring to that investigation.
The Blackhawks have declined public comment on the matter, citing the ongoing litigation. Loggans called it "ridiculous" that the organization isn't commenting on the matter.
"There are witnesses who are employees of the Blackhawks and the Blackhawks are saying nothing except they're trying to defend on the technicality of statute of limitations," Loggans said.
"I don't get it. It's just to me a continued failure to accept responsibility for what happened to John Doe."
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
