Chicago Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz needs to be removed
By Todd Welter
Rocky has gone from a franchise savior to a franchise pariah.
The Stanley Cup-winning days are long gone.
Rocky Wirtz has gone from being celebrated for bringing the Chicago Blackhawks back from obscurity to creating one fiasco after another.
He has become the epitome of the saying you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
Wirtz’s silence throughout the Kyle Beach lawsuit was bad enough. What he did at the town hall was inexcusable. The cover-up of Beach’s sexual assault allegations by Aldrich in 2010 all happened under Wirtz’s watch.
Wirtz can claim he was unaware of the cover-up all he wants, but he cannot ignore the valid questions being asked. At the very least, the team’s owner owed Beach and all the Blackhawks fans a response.
A little empathy would have gone a long way. Instead, Wirtz chooses to make everyone even more uncomfortable with his team.
Things may get more uncomfortable for the owner if more lawsuits are filed.
Other potential plaintiffs who have retained same Chicago law firm are former Blackhawks asst coach Paul Vincent and the former Blackhawks player referred to as Black Ace 1 in a report by Jenner & Block.
— Rick Westhead (@rwesthead) February 3, 2022
Wirtz callously stated “we are moving on” and by doing so discarded the suffering of the team’s former first-round pick.
What is more astounding about this is just a few months ago Wirtz demanded Aldirch’s name be removed from the Stanley Cup.
Now, Wirtz is refusing to take any more accountability.
Removing a name from Lord Stanley’s Cup and writing a settlement check must be what accountability looks like to Rocky Wirtz.
It does not help that Wirtz made the statement when his team is nowhere near making the playoffs and attendance is declining by the game.
Plus, Wirtz’s rant gives off the vibe of wanting this to go away. That is not exactly the perception you want to give to any potential prospects.
Gretzky went on to add how parents of kids potentially drafted by the #Blackhawks have to be concerned. “I want to know that my 18 year old son is going to be protected.”
— Jay Zawaski (@jayzawaski) February 3, 2022