Youth ice hockey team says accused Manassas detective, coach had clean background checks

Manassas City Police Detective David Abbott was a 16-year ice hockey coach with the Potomac Patriots, a youth team that plays at the Prince William Ice Center in Dale City.

Abbott, a Manassas officer since 2001, turned a gun on himself Tuesday morning and killed himself after police officers came to his home to serve him with a search warrant. Police said Abbott was charged with two counts of indecent liberties with a minor, and that he had inappropriate relationships with two teenage boys.

Abbott met both boys while coaching ice hockey.

On Wednesday, Potomac Patriots General Manager RJ Ziegler issued this statement:

Patriot Families,
I wanted to update you on the situation involving David Abbott and our organization.

You’ve no doubt seen the ongoing reports regarding the circumstances surrounding David Abbott’s death. According to the Prince William County Police Department, David was under investigation for inappropriate communications with children when he took his own life.

I understand that this news is difficult to process for many in the club. David was a long time coach (16 years) and had come to know many parents and players over the years. I also understand this news is very concerning, particularly how it pertains to the inappropriate contact a coach in our program reportedly had with a child.

While there is still an ongoing investigation, we are not at liberty to discuss specifics of the case or David’s actions. I can tell you that immediately upon learning of the serious allegations about David’s conduct from a club parent, we took swift and immediate action to engage law enforcement authorities, to include the FBI. We also took immediate action to suspend David from all club activities, and banned him from entering the Prince William Ice Center until an investigation could be completed. We are so very appreciative of the professionalism and urgency our law enforcement agencies demonstrated in addressing the allegations.

In light of Dave’s death, I opted to cancel all Travel team practices yesterday. Instead, Tony Ryan and I met privately with David’s players and parents at an assistant coach’s home. Grief counselors provided by Prince William County (Kate Schell Smith and Tina DiGiacomo) were on hand for the meeting to provide assistance for those who needed it. They were fantastic and have offered to help in any way they can moving forward.

Two team captains pulled me aside and requested that Assistant Coach Fred Cundy take over for the rest of the season. This tells me that the players were already looking at how they can continue moving forward – together. The resiliency that this team is demonstrating is remarkable. It was one of the proudest moments of my coaching and management career.

So how did we get here? David Abbott, like our entire coaching staff, was subject to USA Hockey’s mandatory background checks and Safe Sport training. David was current in all of USA Hockey’s certification requirements. Despite these safeguards, we were not made aware of his alleged inappropriate activities until a brave club member spoke up. As mentioned before, when the inappropriate actions came to light, we were able to swiftly and decisively take appropriate actions to protect the safety of all players within our organization.

I talked to the President of USA Hockey by phone today who expressed how proud he was with how the Potomac Patriots have dealt with this situation. Our local affiliate (PVAHA), as well as the staff at USA Hockey, has been at our disposal since this process began and continue to offer their resources to us. We appreciate their support as well.

Parents: I encourage you to have a discussion with your children about appropriate relationships with adult coaches, mentors, etc. We rely on the trust of the adults we place our kids with, but as you know, we must always be vigilant about our children’s safety despite all of the safeguards we have in place. This discussion may not be an easy one to have with your child, but will prove critical over time in situations such as these.

USA Hockey provides guidance on fostering safe, abuse-free environments. This training is mandatory for coaches and staff…but the program’s informational resources and training are available to anyone. More information about USA Hockey’s SafeSport program can be found here: https://www.usahockey.com/page/show/908023-usa-hockey-safespor t-program

I know you will join me in reinforcing our commitment to a safe environment for our children. As a new parent myself, we spend a great deal of time preparing ourselves and our families for potential dangers, but sometimes we just can’t see it coming no matter how much we prepare.

I, like so many others today, have a range of emotions from frustration to sadness on several levels. But it’s the same people that help us prepare that also help us cope and recover – and it’s those people that we all need to surround ourselves with in times like these. I hope everyone can find strength to deal with the events that unfolded yesterday and I am confident we will work through this as a united, unified hockey family.

If a child or parent observes inappropriate behavior from one of our coaches or staff members, please contact me or a member of the club’s staff immediately. Please know that the safety of our players and hockey family is first and foremost. It is worth reinforcing that when the inappropriate actions came to light, we are able to swiftly and decisively take appropriate actions to protect the safety all players within our organization.

Moving forward, we should not let the actions of one individual define
us as an organization. I won’t let it. I won’t let the actions of one individual soil the legacy that many of you sacrificed so much to develop over the years. I won’t allow the transgressions of one individual to rob our children of the opportunity to grow…to develop…to excel. I’m confident that we will overcome this tragedy and we will all become stronger and wiser because of it.

Lastly, the Prince William Ice Center ownership understands the privacy concerns of our families and has agreed to post signs to keep the media off of rink property. I am very grateful for the solidarity that our facility has shown us during this very trying time.

Please keep the players, parents and coaches of the Bantam Red team in your thoughts and prayers through this difficult time. I will be sending out the Prince William County Grief Counselor’s contact information to the coaches and managers to distribute. Please do not hesitate to call them. They are genuine people who are eager to help.

I will continue to provide updates as I am permitted to do so.