Pitt organization have to defend themselves after assault allegations

[SergioMomesso]

https://hockeybuzz.com/blog/Ryan-Wilson/Penguins-allegedly-turned-a-blind-eye-to-sexual-harassment-and-assault/177/108629

 

Wow. That is not a good look for Guerin and the Pens.

[Dazzle]

8 hours ago, SergioMomesso said:

https://hockeybuzz.com/blog/Ryan-Wilson/Penguins-allegedly-turned-a-blind-eye-to-sexual-harassment-and-assault/177/108629

 

Wow. That is not a good look for Guerin and the Pens.

Oh jesus. I just read through the allegations. And the husband of the assault victim got fired for reporting the incident about his wife, which "wasn't performance related".

 

If true, looks like Guerin's gonna have to look for another job - in Russia. I can see the team making him take the fall for this, though it would seem like multiple parties were complicit here.

 

Edit: Whoops I totally forgot and skimmed over the part that Guerin is with the Wild now. In any case, I can't see him surviving this fallout either with the Wild, with him being at the centre of that scandal.

Edited December 9, 2020 by Dazzle

[Chickenspear]

Damn, Super Mario/Guerin better come out with a statement real quick.

 

One thing that bothers me (among other things) is why did Mr. Skalde not question why Donatelli wanted her in the back seat? Isn't that a huge red flag?

[canuck2xtreme]

I don't understand how he was able to do all that, with Jarrod in the front seat, and them in the back, without Jarrod noticing?  Would she not have said anything at all?  Not a 'stop it', or 'knock it off' or anything that might have indicated what was happening?

 

Not to victim blame or put any of this on the Skaldes at all, I just can't comprehend sitting in the front seat while all of THAT was going on with my wife in the back seat and being oblivious.  I'd have been absolutely livid and the second I found out, Handsy McRapey would have had a very bad evening, job situation be damned.

 

Unacceptable that this happened at all, and even worse if it was hushed like that.  Complete BS

Edited December 8, 2020 by canuck2xtreme

[CanucksCountry]

The only thing that bothers me is why did they wait 7 months to bring this up? If true that's a really bad look for the pens but i do see a huge red flag with waiting for 7 months to bring it up

[SergioMomesso]

2 minutes ago, canuck2xtreme said:

I don't understand how he was able to do all that, with Jarrod in the front seat, and them in the back, without Jarrod noticing?  Would she not have said anything at all?  Not a 'stop it', or 'knock it off' or anything that might have indicated what was happening?

 

Not to victim blame or put any of this on the Skaldes at all, I just can't comprehend sitting in the front seat while all of THAT was going on with my wife in the back seat and being oblivious.  I'd have been absolutely livid and the second I found out, Handsy McRapey would have had a very bad evening, job situation be damned.

 

Unacceptable that this happened at all, and even worse if it was hushed like that.  Complete BS

if that happened to my wife in my vicinity, the car would be stopped no matter where we were and me and head coach would be going a few rounds. And we wouldn't be stopping until his jaw is broken.

[-SN-]

16 minutes ago, CanucksCountry said:

The only thing that bothers me is why did they wait 7 months to bring this up? If true that's a really bad look for the pens but i do see a huge red flag with waiting for 7 months to bring it up

This always comes up and the answer is in the article:

 

Quote

 

You might ask why did the Skaldes wait to report. It is a common questions asked about abuse victims. The answer is traumatic events often leave the victims feeling shame and blaming themselves. Embarrassment can also lead to inaction. Above all else victims sometimes fear retribution and retaliation.
 

The Skaldes didn’t immediately report the assault to the Penguins “because they had never experienced such an attack and were unsure what to do,” the lawsuit says. “The Skaldes also were concerned that reporting the conduct could lead to retaliation and create a crisis for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the middle of the season, causing harm to the team and its players through no fault of the Skaldes.”

 

The Skaldes were of course correct to be afraid of retribution for bringing up the sexual assault because Jarrod Skaldes was the only one out of 21 in hockey operations to be fired and it was not performance related

 

 

“Of the 21 employees handling hockey operations for the Penguins, team management selected only Mr. Skalde for termination – and told him it had nothing to do with his performance, which was ‘great,’” the lawsuit says. “But of course, Mr. Skalde also happened to be the only one who had complained about the unlawful sexual assault and battery of his wife by a Penguins coach.”

 

[-SN-]

Pittsburgh Penguins told AHL coach to ‘stay quiet’ about wife's sexual assault, lawsuit says - TSN.ca

 

Quote

The Skaldes also allege in their 22-page claim that they learned of “countless other episodes of inappropriate conduct by Mr. Donatelli, sexual and otherwise, which apparently the Penguins were aware of but did little or nothing to stop. Donatelli’s misconduct… was well-known by the Penguins management, but tolerated because he was a successful coach.”

The lawsuit says the Penguins should have been on notice about Donatelli’s conduct, which allegedly included making crude and physical sexual advances on women while working for the organization, and having sexual relations with lower-level staff at Mohegan Sun Arena, where the AHL team plays its home games.

“The Penguins were fully aware of this conduct, and that it put others, especially women, at high risk of being sexually assaulted by him, but continued to tolerate it and took no action to protect employees, family members or others who came in contact with Donatelli through his powerful position as a head coach for the Penguins,” the lawsuit says.

 

[CanucksCountry]

12 minutes ago, StealthNuck said:

This always comes up and the answer is in the article:

 

 

I don't buy that answer one bit, I had a similar thing happen to my wife we sure as hell didn't wait 7 months and you don't think the dude would have heard say no in the car? 

[Pears]

16 minutes ago, CanucksCountry said:

I don't buy that answer one bit, I had a similar thing happen to my wife we sure as hell didn't wait 7 months and you don't think the dude would have heard say no in the car? 

I guess you missed the part of the article that said “while they were briefly alone?”

[CanucksCountry]

1 minute ago, Pears said:

I guess you missed the part of the article that said “while they were briefly alone?”

I am guessing you also missed the part of the article where it says He also did it in the car? 

[#Canucks]

5 minutes ago, CanucksCountry said:

I am guessing you also missed the part of the article where it says He also did it in the car? 

I agree. I don’t condone this behavior it shakes me to the core. However why did she not say anything and let him do it? Why did she not yell for her husband who was right there. You would have to be pretty sneaky not to make noise with someone so close in your vicinity. 

Edited December 8, 2020 by #Canucks

[JM_]

Waiting to report things is very common, its no reason to doubt an allegation.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/18/us/kavanaugh-christine-blasey-ford.html

 

 

[YEGCanuck]

Given these allegations and an opportunity to answer them, this really is unfortunate at best. It is almost like pro-sports teams seem to attract the type of unsavory individual who take advantage of people because they can. If the allegations are proven to be true immediate remedial action is necessary to begin to deal with the situation lawfully and in the open. This will be another test for the NHL and as fans we are stakeholders in the ultimate outcome.

[Quantum]

Those allegations are horrifying. I am so sorry that Jarrod Skalde and his wife have had to go through this ordeal, so far.

 

It really does appear that Jarrod Skalde, the assistant coach who's wife was sexually harassed by former WBS Penguins head coach Clark Donatelli, was fired because he was speaking up internally about what happened -- which means his firing was illegal -- on top of the fact that it appears the Penguins tried covering up for Donatelli and let him "resign" quietly instead of firing him once the allegations came to there attention.

 

I can see this having league wide repercussions. Bill Guerin is named as the guy who was handling the WBS Penguins (I believe he was the GM of that team while also working as assistant GM of the Penguins, at the time). Curious if Guerin will be fired by the Wild because of his involvement in this cover up. I'm not sure but some heads are gonna have to roll in the Penguins organization as well as for those who were apart of the organization at the time but are no longer there but still working in NHL hockey.

 

The other thing I'm curious about is that now that Jarrod Skalde and his wife have gone public with there allegations, if others will come forward too. I'm sure there'll be an avalanche of claims in the coming weeks.

 

[Coconuts]

38 minutes ago, CanucksCountry said:

I don't buy that answer one bit, I had a similar thing happen to my wife we sure as hell didn't wait 7 months and you don't think the dude would have heard say no in the car? 

If you don't buy it, that's fine. Trauma, shock, shame, and a myriad of other reactions are common reactions to sexual assault though, there's at least two decades worth of research supporting this. Partner that with fear of losing one's job, potentially creating a hostile work environment where one's boss is in a position of power, bringing a complex scenario to a hockey organization as a coach during the season, and the fact that it's not specified when she decided to speak up and it's really not all that farfetched imo. The article notes that "only later did Mr. Skalde find out what happened to his wife that night" but doesn't specify when later was. Could have been hours, weeks, a month, longer. 

 

As for hearing, the article also notes that "Skaldes allege in their claim that Donatelli sexually assaulted Erin when they were briefly alone, first putting his arm around her, calling her “sexy” and pulling her close to him". Immediately after comes the bit where she's trying to fight him off and telling him to stop, one can assume they're still alone at this point based on how things read.

 

Further on, same paragraph, it states that “Mr. Donatelli resumed his sexual assault and battery of Mrs. Skalde once he had her in the darkness of the backseat. He not only groped her breasts again, but also forced his hands down her pants and touched her vagina, despite her efforts to push him away…". The way this reads leads me to believe this is later when the three were in the vehicle together, but it's unclear. 

 

Why wouldn't a woman speak up or fight back in the midst of a sexual assault? Even during the midst of sexual assault with someone nearby? Shock, fear, shame, panic. Maybe she shut down. Could be in part because of the relationship between her husband and said man, financial stability. Could be a lot of reasons. Women being sexually assaulted around others ain't as uncommon as many would probably think. If an assault did indeed occur, her reaction and their combined reaction are unique to her and them, as were those of your wife and the the both of you. Reactions to such an experience are unique to the victim/victims and while comparison seems like a natural thing to do, comparing two entirely unique scenarios is tricky. 

 

My inclination is to believe the victim in most cases, particularly when the victim is a woman as there's an extensive history of women not being taken seriously when it comes to this sort of thing. Does my believing the victim immediately paint the accused as guilty? No, that's why there are courts and due process. This is an ugly look for the Penguins though, maybe we'll hear more on it down the road. 

Edited December 8, 2020 by Coconuts

[-SN-]

55 minutes ago, CanucksCountry said:

I don't buy that answer one bit, I had a similar thing happen to my wife we sure as hell didn't wait 7 months and you don't think the dude would have heard say no in the car? 

Good thing nobody cares if you buy it. Not surprised but disappointed to see victim blaming already here.  

[SergioMomesso]

IMO no way the Wild should move forward with Bill Guerin as their GM. I'm wondering who was the bright individual to hire Donatelli in the first place if they knew about his past behavior?

[Boudrias]

25 minutes ago, Coconuts said:

If you don't buy it, that's fine. Trauma, shock, shame, and a myriad of other reactions are common reactions to sexual assault though, there's at least two decades worth of research supporting this. Partner that with fear of losing one's job, potentially creating a hostile work environment where one's boss is in a position of power, bringing a complex scenario to a hockey organization as a coach during the season, and the fact that it's not specified when she decided to speak up and it's really not all that farfetched imo. The article notes that "only later did Mr. Skalde find out what happened to his wife that night" but doesn't specify when later was. Could have been hours, weeks, a month, longer. 

 

As for hearing, the article also notes that "Skaldes allege in their claim that Donatelli sexually assaulted Erin when they were briefly alone, first putting his arm around her, calling her “sexy” and pulling her close to him". Immediately after comes the bit where she's trying to fight him off and telling him to stop, one can assume they're still alone at this point based on how things read.

 

Further on, same paragraph, it states that “Mr. Donatelli resumed his sexual assault and battery of Mrs. Skalde once he had her in the darkness of the backseat. He not only groped her breasts again, but also forced his hands down her pants and touched her vagina, despite her efforts to push him away…". The way this reads leads me to believe this is later when the three were in the vehicle together, but it's unclear. 

 

Why wouldn't a woman speak up or fight back in the midst of a sexual assault? Even during the midst of sexual assault with someone nearby? Shock, fear, shame, panic. Maybe she shut down. Could be in part because of the relationship between her husband and said man, financial stability. Could be a lot of reasons. Women being sexually assaulted around others ain't as uncommon as many would probably think. If an assault did indeed occur, her reaction and their combined reaction are unique to her and them, as were those of your wife and the the both of you. Reactions to such an experience are unique to the victim/victims and while comparison seems like a natural thing to do, comparing two entirely unique scenarios is tricky. 

 

My inclination is to believe the victim in most cases, particularly when the victim is a woman as there's an extensive history of women not being taken seriously when it comes to this sort of thing. Does my believing the victim immediately paint the accused as guilty? No, that's why there are courts and due process. This is an ugly look for the Penguins though, maybe we'll hear more on it down the road. 

There were 3 of them in a car. Why was she in the back seat with Donatelli? Why didn't she ask her husband to pull over so she could move up with him? Was alcohol involved?  

[mll]

1 minute ago, Boudrias said:

There were 3 of them in a car. Why was she in the back seat with Donatelli? Why didn't she ask her husband to pull over so she could move up with him? Was alcohol involved?  

4.  It was a car-ride service.