Joined: Jun. 2019
Posts: 2,351
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Let me start this by saying that I’ve read everything that there is to read on this and I’ll admit that in this country, we do believe in innocent till proven guilty.
That being said, I genuinely hope that bowman and co. have the book thrown flush at them. Let’s consider what is undisputed. Aldrich did work for the team and was given a letter of reference to work in Michigan for a high school team. He proceeds to sexually assault a kid and serves 9 months in prison, five years probation, and is a registered offender. This, and this alone, absolutely guts me. I truly hope we get the full story with the John Doe, but for now I can only focus on what’s there. Plenty of witnesses working for the team at the time have testified that this did happen, so it’s not like we’re hearing outsider prospective. This is all without mentioning other incidents of attempted sexual assault as well.
Now let me really open this up. This franchise, given the facts that are already proven, is an absolute disgrace. They have enabled a predator to change a kid’s life forever and potentially could have been others. But that’s just the tip of the problem. The Chicago Blackhawks franchise, for better or for worse, are a poison. Allow me to explain. This happened at the beginning of the boom period yes? But John McD and Stan Bowman, two men who NOTHING to do with the franchise’s upswing, always knew they wouldn't let anything stand between them and the spotlight. They didn’t draft the core but certainly soaked up the attention. Let’s see the history: Kane assaults a cabbie in 2009, kane chokes a girl and goes anti-Semitic (allegedly) in 2012 in Madison, kane has his rape case, and finally Garrett Ross is allowed to play for the minor league affiliate cuz he beat rape on a technicality. Each of these cases were handled by McD in such a way that deflected attention away from the hawks and the players. Sure, the legal acquitted kane and Ross in the latter two cases, but not without controversy attached. What makes this all worse though, is the way hawks used their status to their advantage. I still remember training camp 2015 when McD listed Kane’s accomplishments before even addressing the matter at hand. Disgusting.
You see, the hawks were the NHL’s darlings. They made money for the league, increased popularity, and did everything that a successful franchise should do for the image of their sport. Gary Bettman was enamored with them. The NHL couldn’t afford for them to fail. But then they did anyway. So now, the NHL has decided not to pursue their own investigation. Guess they still need the money more than morals yes? After all, you never hear about drew doughty’s allegations of sexual assault when the kings took off do you? Slava at least got what he deserved. But the hawks, surely, are too big and influential to be taken down by this yes?
Let me finish this by returning to the beginning of this thread. Simply put: the hawks are a team of arrogance. A team of greed. A team that flat out enabled. If the in house stuff ends up being true as well, I hope the higher ups all go to court and prison. Never in all my fandom have I felt so let down by my team. I feel so hallow in my support for this team now. They sacrificed integrity so they could succeed in a boom period. They destroyed lives in the process. That, simply put, is unforgivable. The hawks have become a poison chalice and if this all truly becomes the real deal, they’ll never recover, and they never should.
I’m sorry if I’ve come off as harsh and over the top, but please understand this has been absolutely horrifying to have to read about. Please share your thoughts if you’re willing to, I know this story is far from over, but I truly hope everyone gets what they deserve, be it acquittal or conviction.