New details emerge in sexual assault allegations against former Blackhawks coach

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Content Warning: This story contains details of an alleged sexual assault. The content can be difficult to read and emotionally overwhelming.

New details on the sexual assault allegations against former Chicago Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich were revealed on Thursday.

Susan Loggans, the lawyer representing two clients suing the team over how it allegedly handled the sexual assault allegations of a former Blackhawks player against Aldrich in 2010, amended the complaints in the cases of the two plaintiffs, which provided more details on each case. She also responded to the team’s request for termination in one case. The Blackhawks had previously filed motions to dismiss the two cases.

Loggans argued that the John Doe 1 case, which involved a Blackhawks player in 2010, is not pre-empted by Illinois Human Relations Act and is not prohibited by accident law. Illinois work or a two-year statute of limitations. In the statute of limitations argument, Loggans wrote that his client ignored and deleted Aldrich’s memories of sexual assault until he learned in 2019 that Aldrich had been convicted of sexually assaulting a minor while coaching in Houghton, Mich.

It was only then that the Complainant reflected on his own victimization and how it had affected his life. Based on these facts, a question of fact exists as to when the plaintiff was injured at the time of the assault when he realized the source of his misery.

In the John Doe 1 case, further details of the players allegedly sexually assaulted by Aldrich were included in the amended complaint. The Complainant alleges that around May 2010, the Player was invited to Aldrich’s apartment to watch video clips, and that Aldrich had activated pornography and began to masturbate in front of the Player.

When the player attempted to leave, Aldrich allegedly blocked the only exit to the apartment, grabbed a Cubs souvenir bat on his wall, and physically threatened the plaintiff with the small bat. Aldrich is also said to have ejaculated on the player as the player was paralyzed with fear and threatened that the player would never play in the NHL if he did not engage in the sexual activity.

John Doe 1 also alleges that police reports were filed regarding Aldrich’s inappropriate conduct while he was an assistant coach of the Marquette Electricians, a youth team, in 2015. Aldrich allegedly had minors in his home and bought cars. expensive gifts to some players. The amendment also alleges that players at the University of Notre Dame said they were uncomfortable with Aldrich while he was on the video team in 2006-2008.

As a result of these alleged incidents, the Amendment argues that the Blackhawks “knew or should have known of Aldrich’s propensity to engage in sexual misconduct with hockey players due to his history of repeated misconduct with occupying players. previous coaching positions ”. He also argued that the Blackhawks had a duty to make reasonable attempts to check Aldrich’s background before hiring him. He further contends that the Blackhawks either failed to properly screen Aldrich or hired him with full knowledge that he had a history of sexual misconduct with hockey players, thereby causing the player to be abused.

The amendment also alleges that Aldrich brought interns from the Blackhawks to his apartment and would welcome them to watch sporting events. The Applicant alleges that Blackhawks supervisors and those in managerial positions were aware of the meetings.

The amendment further alleges that John Doe 1 was subjected to humiliating words from his teammates during scrimmages where coaches were present after bringing the sexual assault charge against Aldrich. The player was reportedly harassed with an assortment of homophobic slurs.

In the John Doe 2 case, the plaintiffs’ argument was amended to include that the Blackhawks allegedly provided a positive review and / or verification of Aldrich’s employment at Houghton High School and failed to notify subsequent employers of sexual assault and other sexual misconduct committed by Aldrich in one or more players. The argument includes that the Blackhawks misled Houghton’s team into believing Aldrich’s record was positive.

Earlier Thursday, Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman addressed allegations of sexual assault against Aldrich, saying the organization does not tolerate assault of any kind and that he plans to participate in the investigation independent that the Blackhawks ordered in late June.

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