“We’re not going to talk about Kyle Beach. We’re not going to talk about 2010. We’re moving on.”~Rocky Wirtz

There’s an old saying that says ‘when a person shows you who they are, believe them.” It works for organizations, too.

When the story concerning the sexual abuse of Blackhawks player Kyle Beach first broke, the team showed us who they are by the way they handled it. They promised to be transparent with their actions. They told us things were going to be different. Things on Madison Street were going to change. They basically begged the team’s fans for forgiveness and to stick with them.

It wasn’t easy to continue to be a fan of this team. For many long-time supporters of the team, including this one, it was too much. Those who did stick around did so reluctantly, with a bad taste in their mouth. The Blackhawks had a lot of work to do in trying to regain the trust of their fanbase.

We’re now more than halfway through the 2021-22 season. On Wednesday, the team scheduled a town hall to talk about the state of the Blackhawks. Two reporters asked questions wanting to know about what organizational changes were made to avoid this type of sordid episode happening again. Instead of answering the questions, Hawks owner Rocky Wirtz went on a rant:

“I’m going to answer the question, not him. I think the report speaks for itself. The people that were involved are no longer here. We’re not looking back at 2010, we’re looking forward and we’re not going to talk about 2010.”

Oh yeah, there’s more:

“What we’re going to do today is our business. I don’t think it’s any of your business.  You don’t work for the company. If someone in the company asked that question, we’ll answer it. And I think you should get onto the next subject. We’re not going to talk about Kyle Beach, we’re not going to talk about anything that happened. Now we’re moving on. What more do I have to say? You want to keep asking the same question to hear the same answer?”

This response was because of questioning from Mark Lazerus from The Athletic. When Phil Thompson of the Chicago Tribune tried to follow-up, it was more of the same. A continued angry rant by someone who felt he was under siege. In actuality, the questions weren’t that tough and he had to know they were coming. What’s almost as shocking as his responses, was how unprepared Wirtz was for this.

It’s amazing that a team that won three Stanley Cups in a six-year period that ended in 2015, only seven years ago, has squandered all of its goodwill with the fans and the media.

How can you possibly win back your fans after Wednesday’s episode? For the fans who were on the fence, did this push them over? For those who were already gone, it confirmed their decision.

The Blackhawks showed us who they were some time ago. They showed us again on Wednesday. It’s only a matter of time before there’s a third time. How can anyone ever trust this organization again?

Related Post: After sixty years of fandom, I’m done with the Chicago Blackhawks

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