NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman declines to publicly commit to offering assistance to John Doe 2

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman met with the media on Monday to address the highly publicized Kyle Beach situation, beginning his appearance with an apology to Beach for what he has had to endure over these past 11 years, suffering in silence after the NHL and the Chicago Blackhawks had neglected to act on sexual assault allegations against former Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich I'm 2010.

One of the saddest and most sickening parts of this story involves the Blackhawks giving Aldrich a glowing reference following his departure from the organization, which ultimately aided him in securing more jobs in hockey after the fact - including a job with a high school hockey team.

A short time later, Aldrich would sexually assault John Doe 2, who was 16 years old at the time. This time, Aldrich wound up behind bars for his crime.

While the NHL has committed to helping Kyle Beach and his family to secure therapy at the league's expense, no such offer was extended to John Doe 2 in the case against the NHL.

TSN's Rick Westhead, the journalist who is responsible for shining a spotlight on the lawsuit against the Chicago Blackhawks, was a part of the group of media members that Bettman spoke to on Monday.

During the session, Westhead had asked Bettman directly whether he would publicly commit to making similar arrangements for John Doe 2 and his family to access to counseling that might help them to cope and recover from what they were forced to endure after Aldrich was not dealt with properly following the Beach incident.

Bettman would make no such commitment, offering only that more information is required before the NHL would consider offering John Doe 2 any type of support.

Absolutely disgusting to think that an NHL employee was able to go on to secure another position of authority and use that opportunity to repeat his depraved abusive behavior - this time, towards a minor, only to have the NHL Commissioner turn up his nose at the thought of committing to doing what's right.

What other prospective does the league need? Aldrich was accused of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior while he was employed by an NHL team. He repeated those same depraved actions and was found guilty in a court of law and was imprisoned as a result.

Do better, Gary. Do better.

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