NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman Apologized to Kyle Beach, Discussed 'A Path Forward'

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters Monday he has apologized to Kyle Beach after the former player publicly spoke about his alleged sexual assault by a Chicago Blackhawks video coach.

"We could not be more sorry for the trauma that Kyle has had to endure," Bettman said. 

The commissioner added what the two talked about during their recent meeting:

Bettman met with Beach on Saturday to discuss how to better protect players going forward, per Jay Cohen of the Associated Press.

Beach was a first-round pick of the 2008 NHL draft and practiced with the Blackhawks during the 2009-10 season. In May 2010, Beach said then-video coach Brad Aldrich sexually assaulted him.

Though the allegations were initially made under a John Doe pseudonym, Beach came forward last Wednesday in an interview with Rick Westhead of TSN.

A report by Jenner & Block LLP determined senior administrators within the Blackhawks organization knew of the allegations but took no action for several weeks. Aldrich was eventually given an option to resign.

In 2014, Aldrich was sentenced to jail on a fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct charge for assaulting a high school student. 

Bettman was asked about the situation Monday but didn't offer much of an answer:

It was one of several criticisms during the press conference:

The NHL fined the Blackhawks $2 million following the investigation for what Bettman called "inadequate internal procedures and insufficient and untimely response in the handling of matters."

Stan Bowman was also removed as the team's president of hockey operations and general manager while Joel Quenneville, who was Chicago's head coach at the time, resigned as head coach of the Florida Panthers. 

Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, who was an assistant general manager with the Blackhawks in 2010, was not punished following an investigation.