A photo from Stanley Cup celebrations in 2010 shows the Chicago Blackhawks using a homophobic joke weeks after team officials reportedly covered up a player's sexual assault allegations, Yahoo! News reported.
The photo of Blackhawks stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane raising the Stanley Cup above their heads shows a whiteboard behind them featuring an opponent's name, Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger, with "is Gay" written next to it and circled in red marker.
The image was taken just weeks after former Blackhawks player Kyle Beach accused former Blackhawks coach Brad Aldrich of sexual assault in May 2010.
The Blackhawks scored first and last and held two leads on the night, but a stretch of five straight goals in the middle of it all from the Carolina Hurricanes was the difference in a 6-3 loss.
The Hurricanes have added to the best start in team history (7-0-0); meanwhile, the winless 'Hawks are now 0-6-2.
The Blackhawks head to St. Louis to face the Blues on Oct. 30 in the second back-to-back of the season.
In other Blackhawks news, the team asked the Hockey Hall of Fame to remove Aldrich's name from the Stanley Cup, The Chicago Tribune reported.
The Chicago branch of law firm Jenner & Block provided an investigative report that gave a scathing review of the team's handling of former player Beach's sexual-assault allegation against Aldrich, who was the video coach at the time.
According to the report, Blackhawks senior management met May 23, 2010, to discuss the allegation but took no action until after the season.