CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- According to an internal memo obtained by The Athletic and ESPN, the Chicago Blackhawks have opened an independent review of sexual assault allegations against a former video coach, and the team's response to those allegations.
The internal memo CEO Danny Wirtz sent to employees states former federal prosecutor Reid Schar will conduct an independent review of 2010 sexual assault allegations that are the basis of a former player’s lawsuit against the team.
The Chicago Blackhawks face two civil lawsuits in connection with Brad Aldrich, who was with the team during its 2010 Stanley Cup season. In one of the lawsuits, a former Blackhawk player claims Aldrich sexually assaulted both him and a teammate. The player said he told a coach, who then urged the team's highest management to refer the accounts to Chicago police. They did not.
Aldrich left the team at the end of the year, and eventually ended up coaching high school hockey in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where he was convicted in 2013 of criminal sexual conduct involving one of his players. At that point, he was required to register as a sex offender.
The second lawsuit against the Chicago Blackhawks claims Aldrich would not have gotten that position of authority without the team's positive reference.
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