Kyle Beach comes forward as “John Doe” in Blackhawks sexual assault investigation

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – Kyle Beach has come forward as the “John Doe” named in the lawsuit against the Chicago Blackhawks for their mishandling of his sexual assault allegations in 2010.

In an interview with TSN on Wednesday, Beach revealed himself and said he felt “relief and vindication” that “it was no longer my word against everybody else’s.”

On Tuesday, Blackhawks General Manager and President of Hockey Operations Stan Bowman had resigned following the release of the findings from an investigation by the law firm Jenner & Block.

“[Tuesday,] it was a day of many emotions,” Beach, now 31, said. “I cried, I smiled, I laughed, I cried some more. My girlfriend and I, we didn’t really know how to feel, we didn’t really know how to think.”

Beach had been living with the secret buried for 11 years, saying it destroyed him from the inside out. However, he also said that he believed everyone in the locker room knew what he alleged video coach Brad Aldrich of doing, saying “word spread pretty quick.”

Beach said he first reported the incident to Paul Vincent. During the 2010 playoffs, he met with the former Blackhawks skill coach in the team hotel in San Jose, telling him he had been sexually assaulted by Aldrich.

Vincent then reported the incident to members of the Blackhawks front office, who ultimately allowed Aldrich to remain with the team through their Stanley Cup run before he resigned.

When TSN asked Beach how seeing Aldrich remain with the team made him feel, he said “The only way I could describe it was that I felt sick, I felt sick to my stomach.”

Beach reflected on how it felt as a young “Black Ace,” a minor league player who has been called up to the parent team for the postseason in practices.

“To be honest, I was scared mostly,” Beach said. “I was fearful. I had my career threatened. I felt alone and dark. It’s tough to recall these moments. Mostly, I felt like I was alone and there was nothing I could do and nobody to turn to for help … as a 20-year-old, you could never imagine being put in this situation by somebody who is supposed to be there to help you and make you a better hockey player, and person, and help you build your career.”

Since Beach came forward, former teammates have expressed regret for focusing on playing hockey. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, the last two holdover players from the 2010 Stanley Cup-winning team, both made their first public comments Wednesday since the sexual abuse scandal broke.

Blackhawks captain Toews said he wishes he and the team could have done things differently to help Beach in 2010.

“We wish we could have done something differently, myself included,” said Toews. “My heart goes out to Kyle for what he dealt with. Wish I could have done something. It’s not an excuse looking back, but the truth is a lot of us were focused on just playing hockey.”

Beach said comments were made on the ice, in the locker room, and around the arena with players, staff, and media all in earshot. Witnesses say that Beach endured some bullying from Blackhawks players, including anti-gay comments after he made the allegations.

Kane said he was unaware that Beach was the “John Doe” who filed a lawsuit accusing the team of mishandling his allegations until Beach publicly came forward earlier in the day.

“I knew Kyle pretty well from a couple different training camps,” Kane said. “He seemed like a happy-go-lucky guy … I wish back then we could’ve done some different things or known some different things to help him.”

Toews defended Bowman, along with Al MacIsaac, the team’s senior director of hockey administration who was ousted as part of the fallout on Tuesday.

“To me, Stan and Al, make any argument you want, they’re not directly complicit in the activities that happened,” Toews said. “Regardless of mistakes that may have been made, for someone like Stan, who has done so much for the Blackhawks — and Al as well — to lose everything they care about and their livelihoods as well… I don’t understand how that makes it go away, to just delete them from existence and (say), ‘That’s it, we’ll never hear from them again.’”

When the Blackhawks drafted Kane in 2007, he lived with Bowman calling him “a great man who did a lot of things for me personally.” However, Kane said Bowman and MacIsaac’s exits were “necessary” and “right” moves.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has scheduled meetings with then-Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville (now with the Florida Panthers) and then-front office member Kevin Cheveldayoff (now Winnipeg Jets GM) to discuss their involvement.

Recently, Beach has been playing in Europe with a short stint in the ECHL.

Following the interview’s airing, the Blackhawks issued the below statement.

“First, we would like to acknowledge and commend Kyle Beach’s courage in coming forward,” the team said. “As an organization, the Chicago Blackhawks reiterate our deepest apologies to him for what he has gone through and for the organization’s failure to promptly respond when he bravely brought this matter to light in 2010. It was inexcusable for the then-executives of the Blackhawks organization to delay taking action regarding the reported sexual misconduct. No playoff game or championship is more important than protecting our players and staff from predatory behavior.

“The Blackhawks have implemented numerous changes and improvements within the organization, including hiring a new leadership team that is committed to winning championships while adhering to the highest ethical, professional, and athletic standards.”

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