The Chicago Blackhawks fired D.J. Jonesthe head athletic trainer of the minor-league Rockford IceHogslast Nov. 3 for alleged sexual harassment, The Chicago Tribune reported.
Jones was in his 16th season with the Hawks' American Hockey League affiliate. ESPN.com originally reported his firing.
"Under our new leadership, we have made it crystal clear that nothing is more important than the safety and well-being of our players and employees, and there is a zero-tolerance policy for any violation of our standards of conduct in our organization," the Hawks said in a statement. "We have done a lot of work to ensure an environment where employees are encouraged to feel safe coming forward, even if it is about wrongdoing that occurred in the past."
A female employee reportedly made the allegation against Oct. 27, 2021Jones a day after Chicago law firm Jenner & Block conducted a public briefing on its independent review of former Hawks prospect Kyle Beach's sexual-assault allegation against former video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010. Jones allegedly harassed the employee in 2014.
Last week, Chicago Blackhawks Chair Rocky Wirtz apologized twice after getting into a heated exchange Feb. 2 with two reporters at the town hall-style event when pressed about the Beach allegations, per NBC Chicago.