By Adam Newport , CNN Written by
The sexual assault allegation that led to Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman being suspended in December 2015 was not immediately reported to the team by the woman who made the claim, a 20-year-old former worker, according to The Undefeated, an online news site about sports.
The woman made the claim that Bowman raped her after a night of drinking at a downtown Chicago hotel in November 2010, the site reported, citing a report by the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.
The Chicago Blackhawks released a statement Friday afternoon addressing the issue, confirming that the woman reported the allegation to police, the league and the team.
“This was reported to the Chicago Police Department and we cooperated fully with the investigation of the incident, as is our normal practice,” the statement said. “The allegations were never substantiated, and we were fully exonerated of any wrongdoing. We are gratified to report that the investigation concluded that the woman acted in good faith and at no time was she the victim of any criminal conduct. We will continue to honor the confidentiality of this process.”
The Blackhawks are the only NHL team to employ a general manager without any ties to hockey, according to the website.
The office of attorney Marc Pearlman, who is representing the woman, did not immediately return a request for comment from CNN on Friday.
The woman told police at the time of the incident that she was impaired at the time, the Undefeated reported.
But a subsequent investigation by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office did not substantiate the sexual assault claim, the report said.
The Chicago Blackhawks organization took action in December 2015 to suspend Bowman following an “allegation of misconduct by one of our employees,” team spokesman Kent Smith told CNN at the time of the suspension.
At the time, Smith would not say if the employee was the general manager, citing employee privacy.
Bowman, who has been with the team since 1991, was later reinstated to his position on an indefinite basis after failing a drug test. The suspension was not related to the sexual assault allegation, Smith told CNN at the time.
Smith could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday.
The Chicago Blackhawks made the finals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year. They lost to the Nashville Predators in a six-game series.
