Brad Aldrich's name crossed off Stanley Cup over sexual assault allegations from former player
The name of a former video coach for the Chicago Blackhawks has been crossed off the Stanley Cup after a former minor league affiliate player publicly accused him of sexual assault, the Hockey Hall of Fame confirmed Thursday. The decision to cross out Brad Aldrich, who denies the allegations, comes after the results of an independent investigation into his alleged conduct were made public in October.
A spokeswoman for the Hockey Hall of Fame confirmed the move, and shared a photo of the Cup with X's carved over each letter of his name. The spokesperson said only one other name had been crossed off the cup: when the Oilers' Peter Pocklington added the name of his father, who was not on the team.
The move was made at the request of Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz, according to CBS Chicago.
"The names of some of hockey's most talented athletes appear on the Stanley Cup. But so does the name 'Brad Aldrich' whose role as video coach made him eligible for engraving," Wirtz said in a letter to the Hockey Hall of Fame, CBS Chicago reported. "His conduct disqualified him, however, and it was a mistake to submit his name. We are sorry we allowed it to happen."
The news comes amid a year of turmoil for the Blackhawks, who commissioned an independent investigation into the player's allegations after he filed a civil lawsuit in May. That player, who has since identified himself as Kyle Beach, alleged that Aldrich sexually assaulted him in May 2010, after he had been called in as a backup for the playoff games.
Aldrich told the independent investigators that the encounter was consensual, and denied assaulting Beach, according to the report.
Beach reported the alleged assault to the team's mental skills coach, the report said. But when that allegation was brought to a wider group of team officials, including then-General Manager Stan Bowman and then-head coach Joel Quenneville, the group waited to inform human resources until after the team finished its championship run, the report said.
The report said it's not clear exactly what the group knew about the nature of Beach's allegations, though they all remembered being told of "an unwelcome sexual advance."
The team went on to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1961. When a human resources official was told of the allegation days later, they allowed Aldrich to resign without an investigation, the report said — which meant his name was engraved on the Cup, he was allowed to host the Cup in his hometown, and he went on to work for USA Hockey, the University of Notre Dame, Miami University in Ohio, and a high school in Michigan.
In 2013, Aldrich was arrested and pled guilty to fourth degree criminal sexual conduct involving a minor, the report said.
The report said there was no evidence that CEO Danny Wirtz and his father, Rocky, were made aware of the allegations until Beach decided to file his lawsuit.
On the day the report was released, the NFL fined the Blackhawks $2 million for their handling of the investigation. Soon after, many of the officials named in the report resigned, including Bowman and Quenneville.