Gary Bettman downplays Rocky Wirtz's outburst over Kyle Beach questions

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman decided to roll over for one of his bosses during his annual All-Star Weekend media duties on Friday.

In an appearance on ESPN’s “The Point,” Bettman spoke for the first time on the meltdown that Chicago Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz had earlier this week after a reporter asked what plans the team have put in place to avoid the power imbalances that existed in 2010 when video coach Brad Aldrich sexual abused Kyle Beach.

"What we saw from Rocky was frustration," Bettman said. "[It was] an emotional — I think most media are calling it an outburst — and the most unfortunate thing about it is, it's completely inconsistent with all the work that the Blackhawks are doing.

"A lot of personnel have left. [President of Business Operations] Jaime Faulkner and [CEO] Danny Wirtz are really running things day-to-day. They are bringing in a wellness department, they're having training, there's counselling, they know they have to do everything right to create an environment that has an open, welcoming and safe culture. And that's what they're working on."

Bettman added:

“So I just think it was an emotional moment born out of something that I know has weighed very heavily on Rocky and I think [at] the town hall and what he was really focused on was, how do we take all these things we're doing to move forward? And I just think this was just pent-up frustration. And he apologized promptly."

In case you missed it, Wirtz went viral for all the wrong reasons earlier this week when he aggressively clapped back at reporters for questions related to the 2010 sex abuse scandal plaguing the organization and hockey world.

"We're not going to talk about the report [on Beach]," Wirtz said on Wednesday. "We read it. We're moving on. I think you're out of line. I don't like your questions. What we're going to do today is our business. I don't think it's any of your business. You don't work for the company. If someone in the company asked that question, we'll answer it, and I think you should get on to the next subject. We're not going to talk about Kyle Beach. We're not going to talk about anything that happened."

After the tantrum, Wirtz released a statement late Wednesday night expressing "regret" over his reaction.

This comes after Wirtz stated in December that the Blackhawks would be “a beacon for professionalism, respect and integrity in our community,” when the organization reached a settlement deal with Beach.

Wirtz became the principal owner of the Blackhawks after his father’s death in 2007.

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