Former U.S. Gymnast Aly Raisman Offers Kyle Beach Support After Blackhawks Report

Saul Loeb/Pool via AP

Former United States Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman tweeted her support for former Chicago Blackhawks prospect Kyle Beach on Thursday after he came forward as the previously unnamed player in an investigation into the Blackhawks’ handling of a 2010 sexual assault allegation against a former coach.

Raisman, who previously came forward as a victim of sexual assault by former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, tweeted the following:

Beach, who was previously referred to as “John Doe” in a lawsuit against the Blackhawks, announced Wednesday that he was the player who told the organization he had been sexually assaulted and harassed by then-Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010.

Per ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, an independent investigation conducted by Chicago-based law firm Jenner & Block determined that the Blackhawks took no action when Beach reported the abuse.

Appearing Wednesday on TSN (h/t Kaplan), Beach said he “buried” the secret for 11 years and that it “destroyed me from the inside out.”

Six-time Olympic medallist Raisman, 27, was one of several United States gymnasts who came forward about being victims of Nassar. Thanks to testimony from Raisman, Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney and others, Nassar was convicted of multiple sexual assaults and will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Although Aldrich was quietly allowed to resign from the Blackhawks following the 2009-10 season, his name is on the Stanley Cup and he was permitted to have the traditional day with the Cup after Chicago won it in 2010.

With the police not being informed of Beach’s allegation and there being no record of it in Aldrich’s performance reviews, he was able to continue working in hockey. In 2014, he was sentenced to nine months in prison for sexually assaulting a high school hockey player while volunteering at the school.

The 31-year-old Beach never appeared in an NHL game for the Blackhawks. He currently plays professionally in Germany.