As is the case with regards to lacking kids, it’s about who it occurs to — not that it’s occurring. And proper now, the Chicago Blackhawks are within the midst of a intercourse scandal that will be the most important story in sports activities — if Individuals cared about hockey.
For the previous few years, one other intercourse scandal has been unfolding in sports activities with much less nationwide protection than the others. What’s been occurring with the Blackhawks and the NHL straight speaks to sports activities followers lack of consideration to a franchise — who performs in a league that falls woefully behind the NFL, NBA, MLB, (and even the WNBA at occasions) in recognition and hasn’t made it out of the primary spherical of the playoffs because the 2014-2015 season — and who the alleged victims are.
It’s not solely a case research of what American sports activities followers desire to devour, however an instance of who society deems “worthy victims.”
Just lately, a second former participant from the Blackhawks group got here ahead with claims that they had been sexually assaulted by former assistant coach Brad Aldrich. A bit of over two years in the past, Kyle Seaside publicly alleged that Aldrich had sexually assaulted him throughout an analogous timeframe.
“This case is about institutional negligence at its worst, the place the tradition of win in any respect prices [Ed. note: Chicago won the Stanley Cup in 2010] allowed a predator coach to abuse gamers at a time the place the coach knew he may act with impunity,” mentioned legal professional Antonio Romanucci in a report from USA In the present day Sports activities. Within the report, the attorneys additionally mentioned that Seaside’s choice to talk out performed an element of their shopper additionally doing so.
The lawsuit alleges grooming, assault, harassment, and allegations of nude images being despatched. It has all the identical substances we’ve seen in different intercourse scandals in sports activities which have acquired much more protection. Additionally, this is similar franchise that was sued in 2021 as a result of the crew allegedly gave Aldrich a glowing suggestion for his subsequent job.
Test this out from Deadspin’s Sam Fels’ earlier story on the incident:
“Right here’s a bit from TSN Senior Correspondent Rick Westhead’s report: ‘The plaintiff, who’s known as “John Doe (2)” in courtroom paperwork, alleges that former Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich, who not works for the franchise, sexually assaulted him on March 6, 2013, when Aldrich was an assistant coach on a highschool crew in Houghton, Mich., and the plaintiff was a 16-year-old participant.
“At an end-of-season gathering for the gamers, Aldrich supplied alcohol to the then minor plaintiff and carried out oral intercourse on the plaintiff with out his consent,” the six-page lawsuit says.”
Over the previous few years, we discovered of all of the inhumane and sickening issues that Larry Nassar did to women and boys for many years. Then got here the Mel Tucker scenario on the identical faculty, as adults had been now the main target. Earlier than that, Megan Mullen — the spouse of former Florida head coach Dan Mullen — was committing sexual harassment by kissing all the gamers earlier than every sport, as if they’d a selection in saying no to a white coach’s white spouse who kissed a majority Black crew stuffed with youngsters within the South. And just like the scenario with the Blackhawks, the sexual assault allegations towards Dwight Howard have gone underreported, or horribly reported, by so many within the sports activities media world as a result of the considered sexual assault occurring between males is one thing their primary minds can not fathom, or they lack the depth, mind, and humanity to cowl it correctly.
“I don’t assume our business is provided to deal with this,” Bomani Jones just lately mentioned on his podcast.
“We’ve not reached some extent the place you possibly can hear one thing a few man coping with one other man and we’re identical to, ‘OK, now let’s focus on what has occurred,” Jones defined. “When Dwight Howard was trending, it wasn’t righteous indignation. It was jokes.”
The NHL and the Chicago Blackhawks have been in a position to escape the accustomed backlash that happens when intercourse scandals occur in sports activities as a result of they play a sport that the majority Individuals don’t care about anymore. Nonetheless, whereas the way in which they’ve mismanaged that is on them, the way in which it hasn’t been correctly lined and ignored isn’t. Society loves to choose and select who they deem match to be a sufferer and who’s worthy of sympathy. And if this case has taught us something, is that this nation is a good distance from understanding that sexual assault and harassment allegations ought to at all times be taken severely — regardless of the gender of the folks concerned.
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