Blackhawks fire longtime staff member after more sexual assault allegations

ESPN is reporting that the Chicago Blackhawks have fired a longtime staff member following an investigation into allegations of sexual assault.

Although it's just being made public now, ESPN reports that D.J. Jones, who was the AHL's Rockford IceHogs head athletic trainer, was let go back in November after the investigation. The allegation was made by a member of the team's ice crew and allegedly happened in 2014.

"Under our new leadership, we have made it crystal clear that nothing is more important than the safety and well-being of our players and employees, and there is a zero-tolerance policy for any violation of our standards of conduct in our organization," said the team in the statement. "We have done a lot of work to ensure an environment where employees are encouraged to feel safe coming forward, even if it is about wrongdoing that occurred in the past.

"Recently, when allegations of sexual harassment in 2014 by D.J. Jones, the head athletic trainer for the Rockford IceHogs, were reported to the Blackhawks on October 27, 2021, we adhered to our new protocols and procedures, suspended Mr. Jones, conducted an in depth investigation over 5 days and, following the conclusive results, terminated Mr. Jones on November 3, 2021."

Jones had been with the IceHogs for 16 years. Assistant Athletic Trainer John Walter was promoted following his termination. According to ESPN, the allegation against Jones was brought forward a day after the report by law firm Jenner & Block into the Kyle Beach situation was made public.

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