(Chicago) The Blackhawks have settled a lawsuit brought by a former player who said he was sexually assaulted by an assistant coach as Chicago headed for a Stanley Cup win in 2010.
After representatives for the Hawks and former first-round pick Kyle Beach first met with a mediator, they announced the session resulted in a confidential settlement.
“The Blackhawks are hopeful this resolution will bring some appeasement to Mr. Beach,” the team said in a statement attributed to owner Rocky Wirtz, his son and team president Danny Wirtz and Susan Loggans, the Beach lawyer.
“The Blackhawks are committed to ensuring that in the future, this team will be a model of professionalism, respect and integrity in our community.
“We promise to keep working every day to earn and maintain that trust. ”
The release did not address another lawsuit against the Hawks.
It comes from a person Aldrich was convicted of assaulting while the victim was a high school student in Michigan.
The Hawks claimed until mid-May that Beach’s claims lacked merit.
An independent review, commissioned by the team and released in October, however, found the organization mismanaged the allegations.
Beach was allegedly assaulted by Aldrich as the club made their way to winning the Stanley Cup in 2010.
Aldrich told investigators the meeting was consensual.
Senior executives lost their jobs in Chicago and Florida, coach Joel Quenneville, who was in charge of the Blackhawks at the time, resigned.
The NHL also fined the Blackhawks two million.
Loggans and club lawyers first discussed a settlement in early November, meeting for about an hour.
She then said that “each party had different points of view.”
During the investigation commissioned by the team, no evidence was found that owner Rocky Wirtz or his son, President Danny Wirtz, knew of the allegations before the Beach trial came to their attention, before its filing.
Danny Wirtz said in October he asked lawyers for the team to seek “a resolution that is fair and consistent with all of the circumstances.”