Photo shows Chicago Blackhawks locker room made a homophobic joke just weeks after team officials reportedly ignored a player's sexual assault claim
- The Chicago Blackhawks made a homophobic joke on the team locker room whiteboard in 2010.
- A photo of the joke shows it was displayed weeks after then-player Kyle Beach accused the team's video coach of sexual assault.
A photo from Stanley Cup celebrations in 2010 shows the Chicago Blackhawks using a homophobic joke weeks after team officials reportedly covered up a player's sexual assault allegations.
The photo of Blackhawks stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane raising the Stanley Cup above their heads shows a whiteboard behind them featuring an opponent's name, Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger, with "is Gay" written next to it and circled in red marker.
The photo was taken just weeks after former Blackhawks player Kyle Beach accused former Blackhawks coach Brad Aldrich of sexual assault in May 2020.
Chicago law firm Jenner & Block published an independent investigation earlier this week saying top Blackhawks executives failed to properly investigate Beach's claims.
The investigation alleges that a group of execs including coach Joel Quenneville agreed not to look into the allegation so they wouldn't jeopardize the team's playoff run.
The team went on to win the Stanley Cup weeks later, and after the win, human resources met with Aldrich and told him he could either resign or an investigation would begin. Aldrich chose to resign.
Blackhawks president of hockey operations and general manager Stan Bowman resigned earlier this week following the publication of Jenner & Block's report. Quenneville has since stepped down as head coach of his new team, the Florida Panthers, after initially claiming he didn't know about the allegation at the time.
He has since expressed "sorrow" for what happened to Beach and said in a statement that he wanted to "reflect on how all of this happened and take the time to educate me on ensuring hockey spaces are safe for everyone."