The Hockey Hall of Fame has crossed out the name of former Chicago Blackhawks‘ video coach Brad Aldrich on the team’s 2009-10 Stanley Cup, the Hall confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.
Aldrich’s name was covered in X’s on Sunday, the same day the 2021 Cup-winning Tampa Bay Lightning had their names added.
Aldrich, who worked for the Blackhawks when they won the Cup in 2010, was accused of sexually assaulting former player Kyle Beach during that postseason run.
An investigative report by law firm Jenner & Block released last week examined the validity of lawsuits filed by Beach in May that claimed Chicago had mishandled his allegations against Aldrich. The report’s findings were that the Blackhawks’ senior leadership did not act immediately when approached by Beach and allowed Aldrich to resign from the organization three weeks after the Cup victory.
Three years after that, Aldrich was convicted in Michigan of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct against a 16-year-old and sentenced to nine months in jail.
Chicago’s owner Rocky Wirtz first asked the Hall to “consider X-ing out” Aldrich’s name via a formal letter on Oct. 29. Wirtz wrote that, “while nothing can undo what he did, leaving his name on the most prestigious trophy in sports seems wrong.”
Wirtz went to on say it was the Blackhawks’ “moral belief” that “out of respect to each and every player who sacrificed to earn their place in history,” Aldrich should no longer be represented.
“Names have been engraved and then changed for years,” Wirtz wrote. “Taking a stand on the unforgivable behavior of Aldrich should include erasing his name from the Cup.”
Aldrich’s removal is just the latest fallout from Chicago’s scandal. Since Beach revealed himself as “John Doe” and went public with his story of abuse by Aldrich, Stan Bowman resigned as general manager and president of hockey operations in Chicago and former Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville resigned as coach of the Florida Panthers.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.