Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman's recent comments likely to draw ire from sexual abuse survivor advocacy group

The Blackhawks GM is facing calls to step down from his upcoming role as Team USA's GM.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 2 years ago
Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman's recent comments likely to draw ire from sexual abuse survivor advocacy group
Chicago Tribune

The Chicago Blackhawks continue to be embroiled in one of the uglier situations in recent sports memory after a former member of the 2010 Stanley Cup winning squad accused former video coach Brad Aldrich of sexual abuse, coupled with additional reports from more former players that the entire team was aware of the abuse that was happening. 

The Blackhawks have seemingly caved to public pressure, announcing an independent investigation into the matter with the results to be made public at its conclusion. 

In the meantime, people continue to want answers from everyone from the players that were directly called out by name to the figures at the top of the organization regarding what they knew and when they knew it. 

Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman, who is slated to be General Manager of Team USA at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, is facing calls for his resignation from the position by an advocacy group called Army of Survivors. The group was formed in the wake of the Larry Nasser sexual abuse scandal that rocked the sports world. The group has asked that Bowman go on administrative leave from Team USA until he's cleared of his alleged role in covering up the abuse at the hands of Aldrich. 

His response isn't likely to satisfy them.

"USA Hockey has been in close contact with the Blackhawks on a variety of topics. I'm not really involved in those conversations," he said as reported by TSN's Rick Westhead. "That's not something I can directly comment on." 

The scandal began when reports surfaced earlier this year that in May of 2010, which would have been during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, team video coach Brad Aldrich “turned on porn and began to masturbate in front of” the unidentified player. Additionally, the report says that Aldrich sent “inappropriate text messages” to the player and threatened to “physically, financially and emotionally” harm the player if he “did not engage in sexual activity" with the coach. The lawsuit stated that the player reported the incident to James F. Gary, the team's mental skills coach, following the incident.

The lawsuit filed by the player goes on to allege that not only did the Blackhawks fail to do anything to stop the abuse that was reported by a former player last month, but that they ignored it, and even provided Aldrich with a positive reference letter. 

Since then, the likes of Brent Sopel and Nick Boynton have voiced their anger over nothing having been done by the team despite the allegations being a well-known secret within the organization. 

Source: Twitter