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Morning Skate: Don’t buy the Blackhawks’ story about Garret Ross
How could they not know he was charged with a felony?
Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
Lace ‘em up. Time for the Morning Skate.
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ANOTHER BLACKHAWK IN TROUBLE
The Blackhawks suspended one of their prospects yesterday, and I’m not buying the story they’re selling.
Garret Ross is a 23-year-old winger playing with the Rockford IceHogs, the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate. In early February, Ross was charged with one count of non-consensual dissemination of sexual images. You might know that crime as “revenge porn.” The state of Illinois passed the toughest laws against revenge porn of any state in the U.S. last year, so Ross apparently doesn’t read the news.
But that’s beside the point. He was charged with a felony in early February. The Blackhawks only responded in late March. In fact, let’s go over the entire timeline, as the Chicago Tribune reported it:
- In September 2015, a woman brings accusations and evidence against Ross to police.
- That begins a four-month investigation.
- Ross is charged, booked and released on bond on Feb. 2 and keeps playing hockey.
- Nothing happens for more than a month.
- On Saturday, the news starts making the rounds on Twitter. A mini firestorm starts. Ross is pulled from Rockford’s game.
- And three days later, he’s suspended indefinitely by the Blackhawks, who issue a statement claiming they had no idea about the charges until Twitter found out on Saturday.
Right. There are two possibilities at play here. The first is that the Blackhawks really didn’t know that someone in their organization was charged and arrested for a felony for two whole months, which means the front office harbors some level of incompetence. The second possibility is that they knew about it and just ... did nothing. Which is inexcusable.
I don’t know what the truth is, and I suspect we’ll never know. But for those who already feel the league doesn’t have the best interests of women at heart, it’s not a great look.
Updated 3/29: Ross will not be charged due to location technicalities. Ross allegedly committed the crime in Michigan, and the state has less severe revenge porn laws than Illinois.
SPEAKING OF...
- Pension Plan Puppets spoke to their female staffers about their frustrations with the sport’s ignorance right now. It’s great, and you should check it out.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT
- The Islanders snapped out of their funk last night, and they can thank their rookie goalie.
- The Senators are now on the verge of making special teams history after losing on Wednesday. And not the good kind.
- Maybe they were distracted by Ja Rule banging on the glass.
- Or Keith Jones’ pigtails, brought to you by McDonald’s.
- The Isles may have broken their four-game losing streak, but Boston continued theirs.
- They were no match for the Rangers, who played one of their best games in recent memory.
NEWS AND NOTES:
- Keith Yandle proved his worth yet again for the Rangers.
- The Senators’ owner promised changes after a disappointing year.
- The Rangers got exposed on their West Coast road trip.
- Are the Oilers making any progress under Todd McLellan?
- Should the Blue Jackets expect more of the same mediocrity next season?
- GM Ray Shero should play the long game when it comes to the Devils’ rebuild.
- The Predators are in great shape heading into the home stretch.
- Finally, try watching Justin Williams dance to “Cotton Eye Joe” without laughing.
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