Photo Credit: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
The Chicago Blackhawks offseason has been full of triumph for some and full of stress for others, none more than Blackhawks superstar, Patrick Kane. As it has been already been previously reported, Kane is currently under investigation after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman earlier last month. The investigation is still on-going, but the damage to Kane’s reputation has already been done. The biggest, of course, would have to be his omission from the cover of NHL’16.
However, the Blackhawks are still permitting Kane to attend their training camp which started today. This can certainly be seen as a bad publicity move for the Blackhawks since the investigation is still happening and it is unclear if Kane was actually involved in the allegations. The lack of details is really what makes his appearance so unsettling because the old statement, “innocent until proven guilty” doesn’t really work in sports and most definitely not for the Stanley Cup Champions. Everyone is already jumping to conclusions about Kane’s involvement regardless, so having him stay away would be the best option.
Since the investigation, Kane has refrained from making comments in connection to the case. Most of the statement being made were on his behalf by his attorney or by the Buffalo police department. Before the start of training camp though, Kane talked to the press and made a brief but powerful statement, “I respect the legal process…I am confident that I will be absolved of doing nothing wrong.”
His statement proclaiming his innocence should be comforting to Blackhawks fans, but without any evidence to support, Kane is treading on thin ice. It is still unclear what the punishment will be for Kane if the allegations are proven true.
