Chicago Blackhawks assistant coach Marc Crawford will remain suspended until Jan. 2, at which point he will return to the team. Crawford has been ordered away from the team since the beginning of December, when the club opened an investigation into allegations of misconduct earlier in his career.
Earlier this month, Crawford came under fire when several former players came forward with allegations of physical, verbal and emotional abuse. Two of Crawford's former players, Sean Avery and Patrick O'Sullivan, alleged that the coach punched and kicked them on the bench when they played for him with the Los Angeles Kings in 2006-2007. (Crawford was head coach of the Kings at the time.) O'Sullivan also alleged that Crawford frequently directed homophobic slurs at his players.
On Monday, the 58-year-old coach released a statement addressing those allegations.
"Recently, allegations have resurfaced about my conduct earlier in my coaching career," Crawford's statement read. "Players like Sean Avery, Harold Druken, Patrick O'Sullivan and Brent Sopel have had the strength to publicly come forward and I am deeply sorry for hurting them. I offer my sincere apologies for my past behaviour."
In his statement, Crawford admitted to using "unacceptable language and conduct toward players in hopes of motivating them" and said he "sometimes went too far." The coach expressed regret for his transgressions and a desire to be better moving forward, saying he has sought therapy and counseling for the better part of a decade.
The Blackhawks also released a statement addressing Crawford's behavior and his status with the team.
"We do not condone his previous behavior," the team release read. "Through our review, we confirmed that Marc proactively sought professional counseling to work to improve and become a better communicator, person and coach. We learned that Marc began counseling in 2010 and he has continued therapy on a regular basis since. We believe that Marc has learned from his past actions and has committed to striving to reform himself and evolve personally and professionally over the last decade. We have experienced no incidents during Marc's coaching tenure with the Chicago Blackhawks."
Crawford will rejoin the Blackhawks and assume his normal duties on Jan. 2. The team said he will continue to seek counseling.
Crawford has previously served as head coach of the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche (1994-1998), Vancouver Canucks (1998-2006), Kings (2006-2008) and Stars (2009-2011). He also served as interim head coach of the Ottawa Senators (2018-2019) before joining the Blackhawks organization in June.
