Yesterday, the Chicago Blackhawks held a townhall and upper management sat before a room full of reporters asking questions about the Kyle Beach incident and the multiple missteps of the Blackhawks organization -- questions that Chicago fans, the public, and the greater hockey community very much have a right to ask and have responses to.
Instead of answering these questions broadly, Rocky Wirtz threw a temper tantrum, refusing to even talk on the 2010 issue, or allowing any of the other panelists to respond. He berated upstanding members of the sports journalism field, and resorted to insulting these reporters directly.
Rock's outburst is just another example of how little the Blackhawks organization cares about their culpability in what happened to Kyle Beach, and Brad Aldrich's numerous other victims. It shows how little they care about their control in the rampant toxicity of hockey culture, and their lack of willingness to do anything to effectuate change.
The 2010 Blackhawks should be removed from the Stanley Cup, as the Brad Aldrich incident proves to be more than just the actions of a single bad apple. Instead, the organization is insidious and dismissive of cultivating a safe, inclusive hockey environment. For that reason alone, the organization should also be stripped of its 2013 and 2017 titles.