The Chicago Blackhawks held a town hall on Wednesday that was meant to make fans feel better about the place that the organization is in. It did not do that. Instead, Rocky Wirtz, owner of the Blackhawks, went on a childish tirade attacking multiple reporters after asking what the team would do moving forward so that the Kyle Beach scandal wouldn’t happen again. Now that is bad enough and is a horrible look on Wirtz, but the NHL has done nothing in response, which is just as bad, if not worse. But in order to know why Gary Bettman needs to condemn Wirtz’s actions, let’s go back to the town hall that will forever live in hockey infamy.
Be sure to check out all of our NHL coverage.
Background
The town hall itself didn’t just have Rocky answering questions. Along with Rocky was his son Danny, the team’s CEO, and President of Business Operations Jamie Faulkner. They answered many questions from fans and media alike. The trouble all began when Mark Lazerus of The Athletic asked a question about what things the organization is doing to ensure that the Beach scandal, in which equipment manager Brad Aldrich was accused of pressuring Beach into a sexual encounter in 2010, wouldn’t happen again. Keep in mind that Lazerus had asked this question for Danny. Rocky butted in and said in part, “We’re not looking back to 2010. We’re not talking about 2010.” He also said “we’re not talking about Kyle Beach. We’re not talking about what happened.”
Danny had tried to legitimately answer the question, but Rocky ferociously cut him off. Not only did Lazerus receive Wirtz’s wrath, but Phillip Thompson of the Chicago Tribune tried to follow up and get a legitimate answer and call him out. Rocky told Thompson “We’re moving on.” Videos of both Lazerus’ and Thompson’s exchanges with Rocky were posted on Twitter in full and Lazerus posted the full transcript of his interaction with Rocky. The videos are an uncomfortable watch, and writing about his remarks doesn’t do them justice. Go watch both videos. What Rocky said was bad enough, but then for him to be hostile and confrontational told a story of a man who thought that the scandal would be put behind him and his “company” after all the staff involved resigned.
Now that the background information has been taken care of, let’s see how the hockey world reacted.
Backlash
The hockey world would react unanimously condemning the elder Wirtz’s actions. Rocky eventually released a statement in which he stated that he regretted his response. The statement itself was just nothing. It still didn’t address the question that was asked or answer it at all. Eventually, he and Danny put out separate statements. The fact that Rocky had to put out a second statement shows how well the first one went over.
Now, onto Commissioner Bettman. Lazerus sat down with Bettman in an article for The Athletic (subscription required), Bettman basically asks for people to take it easy on Rocky and called it an “emotional moment.” A great response from the commissioner, right? Wrong. The fact that the commissioner of the NHL is defending Rocky for trying to sweep one of the biggest scandals to hit hockey ever under the rug, and saying he has gone through a lot during this time is ludicrous. What about the things Beach has gone through for over a decade?
Conclusion
This whole scandal has been something that the Blackhawks as an organization are trying to learn from. For Rocky, it is something he wishes he wasn’t asked about at that town hall event. the owner of the Blackhawks wanted to focus on the positives. Rocky wanted to put everything behind him and expected it all to fade into the hockey world’s collective memory. And it seems apparent that Bettman wants to move past it too. For the hockey world as a whole, we can’t. It hasn’t and it won’t ever go away.
And the fact that the NHL is willing to defend Rocky for his remarks and give no consequences or discipline of any kind shows their double standards. The Arizona Coyotes lost multiple draft picks for hosting illegal workouts for prospects, but Wirtz gets no punishment for dismissing, for lack of a better explanation, one of the biggest scandals the NHL has ever seen. Rocky and Bettman want to move on and put it behind the organization, but for the wrong reasons.
This is something that everyone needs to learn from. The league not punishing Rocky at all shows they haven’t learned. They’re just hoping to skate by. But the hockey world won’t let that happen. If anything, the hockey world in response gave both a huge body check back into reality. This won’t go under the rug, ever.
Check us out on our socials:
Twitter: @PTSTNews and @TalkPrimeTime
Facebook Page: Prime Time Sports Talk
Join our Facebook Group: Prime Time Sports Talk
Instagram: @primetimesportstalk
Follow Carson Babbini on Twitter @cbabs1120
Main Image Credit: Embed from Getty Images
