Bruins watched ‘very powerful’ Kyle Beach interview as a team
Professional hockey player Kyle Beach’s decision to come forward as the ‘John Doe’ in the sexual assault scandal involving the Chicago Blackhawks has sent shockwaves throughout the National Hockey League.
And that emotional, 25-minute interview between Beach and TSN’s Rick Westhead (worth your time, as tough as it may be to watch at points) was something that the Bruins’ leadership core felt had to be watched as a team.
“We felt a responsibility and we wanted to all watch the interview together,” Brandon Carlo revealed. “[Bruce Cassidy] felt it was important, [Patrice Bergeron]. I think they had a little discussion, and I think it was a great thing for all of us to do.
“It was very courageous for him to come out and do all this. He’s not doing it for no reason. He’s doing it to put a stop to things like this. Once you see it, you see the emotion involved in it, and also just gain an understanding for the fact that things like this do happen. His message was obviously very clear that you don’t have to be alone in it. That was huge to see and very powerful. I think it was great that we all watched it, but also very hard to watch.”
Carlo, who also serves as the B’s player rep in the NHLPA meetings, also spoke about the ‘frustration’ expressed in the NHLPA meeting earlier this week, with players demanding to know how the system failed to protect Beach.
“I think [Beach] was trying to display a message for all of us, speak up, and have a lot of courage in doing so,” Carlo said. “It was obviously very powerful and it affected all of us in a way that you could tell. I just want to commend him for his courage, first and foremost. And then from there on, it kind of transitions to you feel a responsibility within the players association and different things to really further investigate the knowledge and information that was given to certain people that didn’t act accordingly in regards to making more of an effort to stand up for Kyle.”
The Blackhawks have cut ties with Stan Bowman and Al MacIsaac in the aftermath of the scandal, while Joel Quenneville, who was the head coach at the time of the incident, resigned from his post with the Panthers last week.
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Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.
