The trades will have detail with in those notes. But the real stuff is below.

It's time for the NHL to force the Wirtz family out of the NHL entirely. Much like the NBA did with Donald Sterling and the Clippers. I'm not saying what happened was equal. Not suggesting either is worse than the other. I'm saying it's a privilege to be an NHL owner. Not a right. I can understand and see how the Wirtz family has tried to correct mistakes in the past, but many of those (if not all of those) mistakes were created by the Wirtz family. We need a clean slate...and that can't happen with the Wirtz Family involved. It drives me crazy to hear people give Danny Wirtz credit for releasing the investigation. It's like say Bowman wasn't fired because he stepped down first...he was going to be fired if he didn't! The journalists weren't going to let this story simply go away because it's too crazy to allow un-investigated. after 10 freakin years....The Blackhawks performed this investigation ONLY because it was going to happen with or without them. AND WHAT'S WORSE is that Danny Wirtz still to this day doesn't actually care about John Doe. How can I come to that conclusion/opinion? Because he released this investigation without redacting CRITICAL information protecting real people. I will not expand on that sentence because I don't want to be guilty of the same error I'm criticizing Danny Wirtz for.

Other notable Wirtz Ethical Blunders

After starting the "bring down the stripper"....they finally got rid of song and focusing attention toward everyone and not just hot women.

After starting the ice crew...they finally got rid of them... For the record...I'm not against cheerleaders. I have both male and female family members that got full rides in college for cheerleading. It's a sport itself. That's not what was going on with the ice crew. The Ice Crew got in the way of the people cleaning the ice. They were just out there to wear very little.

The continued defense of the Logo. Imagine being an indigenous person today?!?!?! What is literally the human face of the franchise?????? I'm not an indigenous person so I can only imagine how it feels to them. I personally feel sad. There are light bulb moments in life and I hope this is one for much of the CHI fan base. I admit I own Hawks jerseys. The question about the logo SHOULDN'T BE...Why do the Hawks NEED to change the logo. The question should be...Why do the Hawks NEED to keep the logo? Over the years, I've defended the Hawks for doing good solid work to include local tribes through partnerships and bringing awareness/education to the city itself about indigenous tribes and even more novel items like having indigenous people in attendance for the national anthem in traditional attire. All of that good work can continue and should continue with a new logo. Today I ask myself the question on whether or not the Wirtz family did that with good intention or self serving intentions. But, I don't think I'll ever get an answer to that.

Black Hawk logo is a dope Black Hawk logo created by a indigenous artist-
https://indiancountrytoday.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_674/MTU4NDEyMTE0NzAzMjMwOTEx/desktop25.jpg

This investigation is just the START of things. It's not even close to the end. Also, if you choose to read through the full investigation...of which I have read a lot of, but admittedly not all of yet...please keep in my who is still getting paid by the NHL and who isn't. In my personal opinion...just one man's opinion...the testimony's are more consistent with the people no longer getting paid. The testimony's of people still making millions...a little less clear. I'm not suggesting 10 years is a short time. I'm not suggesting any one individual is lying. I honestly have no clue. I'm pointing something out that needs further investigation....in my opinion.

You had me at "Long Read Here."

This is a fantastic post, not just because it is heartfelt and well-thought-out. It should be read by everyone on CapFriendly. It doesn't matter which side of the issue you're on -- it is critical that people engage in debate on this topic.

Use my Comment as mental "cancel cash" for the first three snippy responses you get.

My hat's off to you.

Nice post man, Even at 50% retention though it's doubtful the Caps and Golden knights can afford Kane and Toews.

Wirtz didnt release the memo, the investigators at Jenner and Block did. They should have been more careful about potentially exposing this person but John Doe made a statement to thank Reid Schar (who was the spokesperson for Jenner and Block) so it seems that he was probably involved and knew of what was released, and if not thats on Jenner and Block for not doing their due diligence to protect him.
Yeah the Ice crew stuff is pretty outdated, glad that is gone.
I understand the logo is a controversial topic but right now is definitely not the time to make that change. If they change it now in the aftermath of this decade scandal, it will just look like damage control for the sake of damage control not for the sake making amends to the people it offends.
I'm worried about the extent that Kane/Toews etc knew about the situation, that these players we idolized for so long and could potentially be apart of the problem is distressing. But it also brings up questions of how much did they actually know? Boynton and Sopel said everyone knew but what does that mean? That everyone knew exactly what was going on or that people knew of the rumors of what happened? This is all pretty draining, though I cant imagine what John Doe feels.

Edit: I had forgotten about the Stripper thing, had to look it up but glad its gone too.

My understand is that the Blackhawks hired Jenner and Block and that on August 2nd 2021, Danny Wirtz committed to releasing said investigation. A commissioned report by the Blackhawks was released without any redaction. The Blackhawks are in charge of that report and released it on NHL.com/Blackhawks. I understand John Doe provided testimony very willingly. I don't know the in's & out's of his approval to release un-redacted or not. I didn't see that any where in the report, but I could be wrong.

We have a different opinion on the logo. I think today is the exact perfect day to make the move. a clean slate to me, means a slate with nothing on it. If someone were to start an NHL franchise today...would they choose to put an indigenous face as their logo? That's a clean slate approach to me. I think it needs to change.

I do sincerely appreciate your comments and I'm not intending to tear you down. I apologize id advance if anything came across like that.

@banks @F50marco at whomever will listen @capfriendly guys this is a serious topic and forums does not generate conversation like you want it to. Please reconsider sending this post to forums. I'm a firm believer in capfriendly. I'm a firm believe that monitoring the conversation is better than sending it to forums.

Thank You and VERY respectfully, I love this site.

Exo.

The one thing I disagree with here is the logo argument. There are various surveys that have shown most Native Americans/Indigenous/First Nation/Indian/whichever name you want to use either don't care or support it. I myself am partially Native Americans/Indigenous/First Nation/Indian/whichever name you want to use and from what I've found through my own conversations with family was that they weren't offended by teams like the Redskins or Blackhawks. It seems, at least to me, that most Native Americans that talk about these things are against it, since there really isn't a reason just to go out randomly and say "I really like the blackhawks name" unprompted, which has seemed to create a very vocal minority.

In my opinion, it just seems like many well meaning non Native Americans are attempting to remove these names without realizing it really is a non issue.

One final thing, should they change the name, it would be on the level of the Redskins selling Sean Taylor dolls after an investigation into their disaster started, and would just be an empty motion to try and distract people, gain some good pr, and bury the more important story. If they do, it at least shouldn't be spurned on by a different organizational disaster.

Dont worry, it didnt come off that way at all.

I understand that Wirtzes hired Jenner and I dont know the full extent of how much info John Doe was privy to before the documents release but you'd hope that he was given a copy beforehand. If not then I probably wouldnt be surprised anymore.
With regards to the logo, I'm not saying it shouldnt ever change, just that right now isnt the right time. People would twist it into a narrative of the Hawks trying to mask the aftermath of this situation or say that they only make these changes after something bad has happened which will only dig themselves a deeper hole and ruin the meaning of the change.

Maybe repost this in NHL? I think it could gain better attention there

I agree with you. I wouldn't change the name. I wouldn't take away or diminish any of the good work or partnerships created. The logo provided is an example of middle ground. All the good things that the Hawks have done...which there are many...can and should still occur. We don't have to cancel the good things going on if a change occurs.

I appreciate your input! Sincerely!

Black Hawk logo is a dope Black Hawk logo created by a indigenous artist-
https://indiancountrytoday.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_674/MTU4NDEyMTE0NzAzMjMwOTEx/desktop25.jpg

@chihawk @hattertparty @nickc1988 I've been sent to forums which isn't ideal, but a conversation needs to occur. I'm allowed (3) "At's" per post so here goes. Let's hope I don't get kicked off here!

@stan_bowman @Wadejos123 @PreemoForGM I've been sent to forums which isn't ideal, but a conversation needs to occur. I'm allowed (3) "At's" per post so here goes. Let's hope I don't get kicked off here!

@CrazyK04 @Beetlejuice @PassMeTheSharpie I've been sent to forums which isn't ideal, but a conversation needs to occur. I'm allowed (3) "At's" per post so here goes. Let's hope I don't get kicked off here!

Personally I believe this is a new era, the John Mcdonough era is offically over. I'm still against changing the logo/name, I think you do have a point that the logo will now also be assiocated with the sexual assault case and that could be a turnoff for ative Americans/Indigenous. But the Blackhawks have a great relationship with Natives and helps there causes. The hawks also allowed local Native Americans/Indigenous artist to design their alnerate jerseys. But people that have the most problems with the jersey are non-Indigenous that don't understant history behind the name and just assoicate it to the Red Skins or Indians. The Hawks should continue to build their relationship with native americans and start spreading awareness for sexual assault/abuse. The culture problem with Chicago started with Mcdounagh and ended with Mcdounagh. Everyone was to blame, but it was Mcdonagh's team, it was his staff, it was his mismangement of the investagate.

First off what happened as disgusting and inexcusable. Everyone involved should never earn another dollar from the NHL again. to go on to some of the points you made: 1) I agree the Wirtz's should sell the team, but it just realistically isn't going to happen. Unless Bettman forces them out it won't happen, and I doubt Bettman does that. I do think it woul dbe the best thing for the franchise however to be able to start completly fresh. As far as the logo, I could be mistaken but haven't people from the Blackhawk tribe come out and say they are okay with us using this logo? Again I could be way off. I do agree however with the question "Why do we have to keep it." This investigation is definelty not offer and the fallout certainly isn't. I'm curious to see what we find about the players involvement. I know Toews has said non of the players had any knowledge which I think is complete bs to be honest. There's no way Q had an entire mtg about it in 2010 and didn't say a single word to any of the players. And we already know from the report that players were taunting "john Doe" about the incident in the locker room, so clearly some if not all of the team knew at some point. I doubt the 2 million dollar fine is the end of the punishment. Wouldn't be suprised at all as to us losing draft picks, and i'll be watching to see if we get any info on what the players atcually knew, which no one is really talking about right now it seems.

Blackhawks should not lose draft picks over this and they probably won't. The punishment doesn't fit the crime. Arizona lost picks because their actions would effect their on ice play. Toews and Kane probably knew about it but what could they do, it was completly for the front office to deal with, and the slurs on the ice is he said she said, I'm not dening the fact and I think if your going to sue somebody you may twist the facts or exgerrate to get more emotion out of people. The lawsuit will probably get thrown out since the Blackhawks didn't do anything leagally wrong.

@beetlejuice The Blackhawks team has indeed done a lot of good work with indigenous people and i appreciate the comments added to this conversation. I guess what I was trying to convey is that the work can and should still continue. To me, this isn't about changing the name of the team or changing the relationships/partnership created. Keep all those positive things going. Thanks again for commenting!

I appreciate the long thought out post, your perspective here, and asking me for my opinion.

1) Name/Logo: The Sauk nation has come out in support of the name, logo, recognition of a warrior that is a rich part of their legacy, and bringing attention to their tribe and leader is honorable as far as what I've read in statements from the Sauk people. This is very different then the Washington Redskins as that name is derogatory. Now the wider Indian groups, such as the American Indian Council, have come out against the name and logo, but to me, that is group of representatives from various tribes not representing directly the Sauk nation and descendants from Chief Black Hawk who have the loudest voice on right and wrong. This not entirely different IMO then Swedish and Finnish people, all Scandinavian, but also two different groups of people that warred with one another historically. I think the as long as the Sauk people are in favor of both or either the name (less controversial) and logo, then no reason to change regardless of what the larger AIC says and unfortunately the white woke media want to happen. It's simply nobody's decision besides the Sauk people and the Hawks appropriately need to handle the name/logo in a genuine, honorable way. What I think or you, or Powers and Laz from The Athletic is irrelevant.

2) Regarding the report, I strongly suggest you read the entirety of the report if you have not already. I suggest everyone on this website or elsewhere that is forming strong emotional reactions to read the report in it's entirety. The media bits and bytes take a spin on it that after reading the report I said; well that's not the entire story. Look, there is no doubt the way in which McIdiot, Bowman, Coach Q and other front office personnel handled themselves is deplorable. They breached common HR policies and ethical responsibilities as is the case of any organization. However, the Blackhawks as a organization are bigger then those involved. Unlike what is being incorrectly portrayed by SOME of the media and by a lot of fans is everyone was in on this and everyone knew, and as such the court of public opinions wants to hold everyone... including the players like Toews and Kane....wrongfully accountable. That's simply not the case and misdirected emotional response. John Doe, was an AHL player not on the Blackhawks per se and was separate from the team, didn't practice with them, and was brought up as a "Black Ace" in case of injuries or suspension during the playoffs...common for playoff teams. I have a friend that was a Black Ace with another team and know the experience is not hanging out with the team and practicing with them most commonly; this is also mentioned in the report. As such, it is not the responsibility of Kane, Toews or any other player to handle this, they are employees of the organization and this was swiftly brought to the attention of senior management and executives which is the HR process of any large company (companies much larger then the Blackhawks). The players, again employees, jobs are to do to their job not handle HR issues no matter how bad they are. There are very specific legal reasons for this. Now, there is 1000% a failure on the part of especially Coach Q who Aldrich worked directly for, McIdiot as the President and Bowman as the in-between executive on not handling this appropriately by immediate suspension of Aldrich and termination at the finish of an investigation. They buried it to not draw attention during the WCF when the incident from May 8th/9th was brought to their attention, and to keep quiet moving on to win a cup with Aldrich there. Worse yet, they quietly let Aldrich go not to create a PR nightmare...all were 1000% wrong. They even brought in a police officer for consultation which says to me, they knew how serious this was although not criminal behavior on their part. As a result of their derelict of duty, a second incident with Aldrich happened at one of the Stanley Cup team parties with another Black Ace in which Aldrich grabbed the guys crotch at the party aka John Doe #2. That all said, outside of corporate responsibility and misconduct by the front office, in terms of the law we all live under on what kind of crime was committed between John Doe #1 and Aldrich on May 8th/9th, there is a lot of grey area. There were 3 people there that night; John Doe, Aldrich, and a woman. All 3 of their stories vary in terms of the details...none of them add-up leaving room for speculation. 1) Was John Doe more of a willing participant then he claims? 2) Were drugs and alcohol involved which opens a lot of questions? 3) Was it rape, sexual assault or sexual harassment all 3 having very different interpretations and punishments? 4) The John Doe player is 6'3", 200lbs, and was known as a fighter in hockey. Aldrich is 5'8" and 150lbs. As John Doe's friend, the only one he called and confided in a few days after the incident said, "you fight for a living, how did this happen?" That's a very good question, which then leads to drugs/alcohol and a 20 year old kid, #11 OA draft pick who's career isn't heading the way it should be, with a 27 year old video coach and pressures of wanting to make the NHL team. These are all interesting points of the report and encourage you to read it thoroughly if you haven't Again, the Hawks executive management screwed up big time but this doesn't involve the entire organization and that is clear. Something very wrong happened that evening and Aldrich is a POS predator, but what kind of crime was committed (rape, sexual harassment, assault, manipulation) and extent of it? In a weird way, on one end this seems very Clinton Monica Lewinsky'ish that a person in power took advantage of someone with no power and regretted their decision immediately after. On the other end of the spectrum full on rape was involved and Aldrich should be back in prison for many many years. Somewhere the truth likely is in the middle. I feel horrible for the AHL player/john Doe and hope he finds ways to heal from the incident and definitely admire his strength to address it knowing the public scrutiny involved.

3) I honestly don't think Wirtz was aware of it, certainly not at that point and time. McIdiot was well known to run the kingdom back then. Unless additive facts, and I stress the word "facts", come out, then I just can't jump to conclusions and assume Wirtz knew. I believe in the our most important aspect of being American that people are innocent until proven guilty whether there are legal implications or not. Unfortunately we live in a society today of sensationalism in the media and the public ready to light up forums/social media with guilty verdicts in the court of public opinon (aka cancel culture) and most times not even knowing the facts or in this case without even reading a thorough report. For that reason, no, the Wirtz's shouldn't be forced to sell. Something ethically very wrong happened in their company and those executives were let go for not enforcing HR standards and ethics which is 100% the right move, however, there is clear distinction if a organization was acting criminally (based on the facts they weren't) versus breaking ethical laws. This in my mind is no different that most companies who unfortunately face very similar issues with employees. You don't see companies being forced to sell as a result and the Blackhawks, despite us fans thinking differently, aren't nearly in the public eye or the public reach of many much larger companies for example Facebook or Google. Incidents followed by lawsuits like this happen regularly at much larger companies, people lose jobs, poor responses from management are unfortunately not unusual. It's a big problem with all companies world-wide and we as a society need to do better. We need to encourage people to not be embarrassed and come forward. We need to educate management teams on the severity of these issues and the long-lasting mental implications of a victim. We need to do better as a society but forcing the sale of company is not only legally impossible to impose, but also a knee jerk reaction based on the facts we know today in my opinion. The NHL has their standards that teams must adhere to, but the question isn't whether the standards were met....we know that answer....it's whether the people that broke those standards were dealt with and they were to the extent of the facts as we know them.

This is a bad situation and there is not a doubt in mind that all parties involved have their own interpretation of the facts 12 years later. Some are for sure not being truthful or some may be conversely exaggerating...Sopel for example "everyone knew"...who's everyone and knew what and to what extent did everyone know? We have to stick to facts and as the story continues to develop, scrutinize what is fact, fiction and opinion and do our best to remove emotions.

Guys, please read the report in its entirety. I know you are both diehard fans and rightfully so opinionated, but read the report thoroughly. Regarding the taunting, John Doe (who never played even played in one game ever for the Blackhawks) was an AHL player that did not travel, practice or hang out with the Blackhawks. The taunting was AHL players taunting; this was not the Blackhawks. The report talks about this point specifically. Also, I had a good friend who was a Black Ace with another team a few years prior to this and his experience and what I saw was exactly that....the Black Aces don't spend much of any time with the NHL team...they are simply there in case of injuries or suspensions..these are not "healthy" scratch players on the 24 man roster.

I'm not defending the blackhawks, I'm just saying there are facts and there are statements that may or may not be true, and then there's the media sensationalism. As educated individuals, start with the report, decipher what is fact and what is perspective, and then read opinions in the media.

I'm sure you have the report already but just in case here is the link...

https://jenner.com/system/assets/assets/11549/original/Report%20to%20the%20Chicago%20Blackhawks%20Hockey%20Team%20-%20October%202021.pdf

In the report, I think they specifically said that the black aces trained only together not with the hawks themselves, but ultimately theres not a lot of information about what/when/who said what. But you should probably edit the guys name and just refer to him as John Doe to protect his identity.

@Wadejos123 I agree with you that local tribes like the Sauk tribe has indeed provided support for the Blackhawks organization. The leader of the Sauk tribe was Chief Black Hawk. He actually fought AGAINST the US and with the British in the war of 1812. He lost that battle, lived and went to Washington DC to politically fight for his land back. He did not get his tribes land back. BUT in WWI there was a military unit which used his name. The Blackhawk division to which Fred McLaughlin was a part of. Fred McLaughlin purchased the Chicago Hockey Club and decided to name them the Blackhawks after his military unit.

I mention those items because it's important to know the history. I also want to make sure the point isn't lost that all of those good things can still continue. They SHOULD continue. I just see the mess and I'm curious how the Sauk tribe feels today about the logo specifically. Not the partnership and contributions. Those can and should still continue.

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/06/blackhawks-redskins-name/396356/

It's widely been said in forums and even media; there were only 2 Rockford Ice Hogs who fit the 20 year old category at that time and one I recall being a Black Ace. That said, happy to edit, and duly noted...but edit your response with my comment in quotes as well. I think I caught all of the mentions of the players name. Thanks for catching that

@chihawk Very well said and thank you for your contributions. I'm curious how the Sauk tribe feels today. There's no denying how the Blackhawks got their name. I think additional dialog needs to occur. There's a partnership between the Sauk tribe and the hockey club. It's not a one way street AND to ALOT of people's points, there has been a lot of good work they've done together. The hard part to me isn't about the name (to which...let's see how the Sauk feel about that too), it's more about the question...why do the Blackhawks NEED a human face as their logo. All of the good work can still be sustained and none of the positives need to leave. To your point, if good things get tossed out because of one bad thing...that's a form of cancel culture and it doesn't have to be the case here.

As for the Wirtz ownership. To me this is a light bulb moment and I look at a lot of their history from a different view point. I've read a lot of the investigaiton. Not all, but I also saw Danny Wirtz's video press conference. It's that he's very focused on the Blackhawks. How in good sense can this investigation be released without John Joe's approval that he'll be outed. In the 1st two paragraphs it says John Doe was 21 and part of the Black Aces in 2010. You've narrowed the list down to two people (maybe 3 if I missed someone) on the planet.

It's a privilege to own a NHL franchise. There's too long of a history here and there's too many mistakes that are continuing to be made...about this already messed up situation.

***EDIT*** More of this is coming out and I type as John Doe is stepping forward later today. So maybe Danny did have his approval? I guess the bottom line is while I don't dissagree with McD ruled with an iron fist. There is a VERY long history with the Wirtz family and much of if is quite bad. Not even on the ice stuff. Not Dollar Bill Wirtz. I don't care about any of that. Those are business decisions.

John Doe will speak on sportscentre tonight to reveal his identity and speak his story, just so you are both aware if you weren't already. Interview will be posted online afterwords for those of us not in Canada

I agree with requiring constant approval and support from the Sauk nation. That said, I don't have a problem with the logo if they don't and I'm strongly opinionated on that as I'm not Sauk. However, if someone wants to slap my head on a jersey, brand name, building when I die then by all means! Tongue and cheek and I get the difference but point and case.

Regarding the privilege of owning an NHL team, I would say it's a privilege of owning any company especially one in the public eye. You as a diehard fan, are taking this to heart and I get it, but again, try to separate emotion and it's not about the Blackhawks or NHL, it's simply a privilege to own any company no different if it's the Blackhawks, Cubs, or PWC, Deloitte, Earnst & Young, Fidelity...all much larger more international brand names but like the Hawks private owned. Bottom line, unless they committed a crime, which they didn't, they can not be forced to sell. Even the NHL wouldn't be able to impose that as it would be court case that the NHL can't win.

The Wirtz family was built on liquor, Real Estate, Banking and Boxing dating back to the early 1900s. These are not the most ethical industries in the past and there are lots of colorful stories no doubt. However, let's not confuse one discussion with the other and throw the baby out with the bathwater just because. Do we really want the Blackhawks to sell and end up in the hands of possibly a corporate conglomerate or a bunch of shareholders who care nothing about hockey?