Former NHLer Sheldon Kennedy endorses Stan Bowman’s NHL return
Ever since it was announced the NHL reinstated Joel Quenneville, Stan Bowman and Al MacIsaac, there have been many voicing their displeasure about the trio being allowed to pursue work in the league.
However, a former NHLer is coming out to show support for one of those individuals.
Sheldon Kennedy is the co-founder of Respect Group Inc., whose mission is to empower people to “recognize and prevent bullying, abuse, harassment and discrimination” through proper training. Kennedy also played eight years in the NHL. He is an outspoken advocate for sexual abuse awareness, as he was sexually abused by a coach early in his career.
So when the news first broke three years ago that a coach with the Chicago Blackhawks sexually assaulted former player Kyle Beach during the team’s run to the Stanley Cup in 2010, the hockey world turned its eyes to see what Kennedy thought of the situation.
In a release through Respect Group, Kennedy admitted that it was a terrible situation, but believed the events could lead to an important learning opportunity. According to the piece, Kennedy developed a friendship with Bowman. Kennedy was impressed with Bowman’s improvement over the last couple of years, so much so that he believed Bowman “would be a valuable asset to an organization due to his acknowledgment of past mistakes and his relentless efforts to make the locker room/game safer for everyone.”
After an independent investigation in 2021, Quenneville, Bowman and McIsaac were found to be involved in burying sexual assault allegations against video coach Brad Aldrich. The trio was suspended by the NHL indefinitely.
Kennedy revealed that all three men reached out to him, wanting to learn more “about the issues of sexual abuse and the critical role of bystanders in confronting and addressing maltreatment effectively.”
The Brandon, Manitoba native discussed at length the relationship that organically came to be with Bowman. The former general manager met Kennedy while his father, Hall of Fame head coach Scotty Bowman, coached Kennedy while he was with the Detroit Red Wings.
Kennedy admitted he was shocked by Bowman’s concern for Beach’s well-being, and that they talked about what could’ve been done differently. The two parties talked daily about the “seriousness of sexual abuse from the victim’s perspective,” not talking about hockey at all.
Bowman’s path to improve personally led to him helping out with Respect Group. Kennedy said that Bowman was volunteering close to full-time hours to support the build of the Respect Charter program. He was a part of the crafting of the workshop curriculum in order to educate people and teams to “improve communication and understanding around these sensitive topics.”
Kennedy was impressed with Bowman’s care of the cause, as well as his overall insights. His “acceptance, open-mindedness, and understanding were huge difference makers in
building this workshop.”
Though there has been no public knowledge of any job offers for Bowman (or Quenneville and McIsaac), Kennedy says that for whoever hires him, Bowman “will do everything in his power to make sure what happened to Kyle Beach (who is a hero in my opinion) will not happen to anyone else.”