Episode 39: Chicago Blackhawks + Trauma

During this episode of the Grim Drive Podcast, where we explore mental health through the lens of professional sports and athletes, we discuss The Chicago Blackhawks + Trauma. In 2010, Kyle Beach was a 20 year old player on the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL, brought up for the playoff run towards the end of […]

The post Episode 39: Chicago Blackhawks + Trauma first appeared on Grim Drive.

During this episode of the Grim Drive Podcast, where we explore mental health through the lens of professional sports and athletes, we discuss The Chicago Blackhawks + Trauma.

In 2010, Kyle Beach was a 20 year old player on the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL, brought up for the playoff run towards the end of the season. During that playoff stretch, Brad Aldrich, a video coach within the organization psychologically and sexually abused Kyle.  Despite reporting this to the entire leadership group on the team, including the General Manager and Head Coach, Kyle Beach’s trauma was ignored because it would have made for bad PR.  In this episode, we discuss how this is allowed to happen within an organization and within the sports world, the staggering frequency with which abuse and associated trauma happen in our society, how fear plays such a central role in abuse, and how male coaches, particularly in the older generations, are drastically behind on the education and learning required to handle these situations appropriately and in a manner that protects the safety of each person. We also discuss a video of former NFL player and current analyst Marcellus Wiley discussing physical/mental injury and weakness amongst football players in the NFL, offering our thoughts on which aspects of his opinions we agree with, which we disagree with, and why.

*The Grim Drive Podcast is a way for people to learn about mental fitness, mental health, and mental illness, through the lens of sports. We want to do our part to further reduce the stigma associated with mental health by highlighting the athletes who have shown strength through vulnerability, spoken up, and spoken out.  We want to provide listeners with mental health education, to raise awareness and reduce risk, maximizing the path to mental fitness.

As a reminder to listeners/viewers, please leave us a review on apple podcasts, or comment on one of our youtube videos with any thoughts.  We guarantee we will respond to all comments and would love the chance to have a dialogue about some of these topics with anyone who is interested to discuss. 

Helpful Links:

https://www.npr.org/2021/10/28/1049910345/kyle-beach-reveals-chicago-blackhawks-coach-assaulted-him

Marcellus Wiley video: https://mobile.twitter.com/marcelluswiley/status/1455344746293985283?s=11

The post Episode 39: Chicago Blackhawks + Trauma first appeared on Grim Drive.