Kyle Beach offers profile in courage, reveals he is Blackhawks’ victim “John Doe”

Content warning: graphic sexual assault

A visibly distraught Kyle Beach, the No. 11 overall pick in the 2008 NHL Draft, offered a profile in courage on Wednesday when he revealed himself as “John Doe,” the Chicago Blackhawks player who was a victim of sexual assault by then-video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010.

Beach’s identity was kept under wraps in court documents and the Blackhawks’ independent investigation report until he chose to divulge his identity in a one-on-one conversation with TSN’s Rick Westhead.

Beach, who was 20 at the time of Aldrich’s unwanted sexual advances in May 2010, said he chose to speak out in Wednesday’s emotional interview in part to let other victims know they are not alone.

Beach, now 31, said he’s still just embarking on his healing process. He remains troubled by the cover-up that followed by the Blackhawks’ front office. Tuesday’s report findings from Chicago law firm Jenner & Block said the Blackhawks’ executives, led by president and CEO John McDonough and coach Joel Quenneville, willingly buried the knowledge of Aldrich’s incident so the team to focus on the Stanley Cup Final.

Between their first meeting on the subject and Aldrich’s resignation on June 16, Aldrich worked in close proximity with Beach, celebrated Chicago’s Stanley Cup win on the ice in Philadelphia, participated in the team’s victory parade in Chicago, sexually assaulted another Blackhawks staff member, and negotiated to have his own day with the Cup even after being questioned by Human Resources.

“I think the only way I can describe it is that I felt sick to my stomach,” Beach told Westhead. “I reported this. I was made aware that it made it all the way the chain of command … Nothing happened. It was like his life was the same as it was the day before. The same everything. Then when they won, to see him paraded around lifting the Cup at the parade, at the team pictures, at the celebrations – it made me feel like nothing. It made me feel like I didn’t exist, like I wasn’t important.

“It made me feel like he was in the right and I was in the wrong. That’s also what [mental skills coach Jim] Gary told me, was that it was my fault because I put myself in that situation. The combination of these – and him being paraded around and letting him take the Stanley Cup to a high school with kids after they knew what happened – there’s no words to describe it.”

Beach’s bravery was met with widespread admiration on social media on Wednesday.

The Blackhawks chose to issue a statement commending Beach for coming forward and further apologized for their failure to act.

However, what was missing from the statement was an apology that the Blackhawks – in their response to the allegations when they surfaced for the first time in May and June 2021 – attempted to actively discredit Beach’s court filings and said they were meritless.

The Blackhawks further attempted to point the finger at McDonough, their team president and CEO, who was fired in 2020 by blaming “then-executives” of the team. It was this year’s team executives, including current president of business operations Jaime Faulker, who were in charge and green lighted those statements that were made last summer – and who again approved Wednesday’s statement that missed the mark.

That wasn’t the only time the Blackhawks fell short in their response on Wednesday.

Addressing the media for the first time since the report, Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews – one of two players, along with Patrick Kane, still remaining from that 2009-10 team – also showed support for former GM Stan Bowman and Sr. VP of Hockey Operations Al MacIsaac. Both men departed the organization on Tuesday in the wake of the report’s findings.

“Stan and Al, they’re not directly complicit in the activities that happened,” Toews told reporters. “It’s not up for me to comment on whether they would like to deal with it differently or not. I have a lot of respect for them as people. They’re both good people.”

Former Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville is scheduled to meet with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Thursday at 2 o’clock in New York to discuss his role in the incident. Quenneville was inexplicably allowed to coach the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night; he did not address the media postgame, instead GM Bill Zito read a prepared statement saying Quenneville will not comment until after meeting with Bettman.

Former Blackhawks assistant GM Kevin Cheveldayoff, now the GM of the Winnipeg Jets, is scheduled to meet with Bettman on Monday. Quenneville seems to be facing more scrutiny than Cheveldayoff.

“I witnessed meetings right after I reported [the sexual assault] to James Gary that were held in Joel Quenneville’s office,” Beach told Westhead. “There’s absolutely no way he can deny knowing it.”

The fallout will likely continue in the days and weeks ahead.

At the close of his interview, Beach shed light on the NHL Players Association’s failure to act on the information he reported, specifically naming executive director Donald Fehr. Beach was on an NHL roster at the time of the assault, joining the Blackhawks as a call-up during the playoffs. He never played in an NHL game, a career possibly derailed by an unimaginable incident.

“I reported every single detail to an individual at the NHLPA that I was put in contact with after [the assault],” Beach said. “I believe two different people talked to Don Fehr. And for him to turn his back on the players, when his one job is to protect the players at all costs … I don’t know how that can be your leader. I don’t know how he can be in charge if that’s what he’s going to do when a player comes to you, whether it be abuse, whether it be drugs, whether it be anything. He’s supposed to have the players’ backs, and he definitely didn’t have mine.”

Fehr responded to Beach’s comments with an apology in a statement overnight on Wednesday.

“Kyle Beach has been through a horrific experience and has shown true courage in telling his story. There is no doubt that the system failed to support him in his time of need, and we are part of that system,” Fehr wrote.

“In his media interview, Mr. Beach stated that several months after the incident he told someone at the NHLPA the details of what happened to him. He is referring to one of the program doctors with the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. While this program is confidential between players and the doctors, the grave nature of this incident should have resulted in further action on our part. The fact that it did not was a serious failure. I am truly sorry, and I am committed to making changes to ensure it does not happen again.”

To watch Rick Westhead’s full 26-minute interview with Kyle Beach, click here.