The Curious Case of Patrick Kane Fandom

December 7, 2015 — Leave a comment

By Sean Sears

16 goals. 25 assists. 21 straight games registering a point, 41 points total. On pace to destroy personal bests in almost every offensive category. Patrick Kane’s stat sheet is ‘lit’. Kane’s play has made Blackhawk games must watch TV, with even the most casual fans of the NHL tuning in to see ‘Kaner’ dazzle on the ice. But that’s where it all ends.

On the ice.

Nobody is surprised the Blackhawks’ superstar forward is having a fantastic season again, he’s never had issues executing on the ice. But his issues off the ice have been well documented, and this past offseason put Kane in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Patrick Kane was (still kinda) involved in one of the most bizarre, high profile, rape accusation cases in recent years. It all started with information leaking out after an early August weekend that Kane had gotten himself in trouble.

kane record breaker

Kane’s other impressive streak

Most Blackhawks’ fans have become accustom to some young adult debauchery, I think everyone remembers the Taxi Cab incident, but also some partying on the campus of University of Wisconsin-Madison (Mifflin Street can get the best of all us). But at age 23, with a Deadspin article revealing photos of Kane passed out at the bars and walking down the street with his lifeless arm wrapped around a police officer, it was getting harder to just brush off the issues with a “that’s just Kaner being Kaner.” So, after a few days passed, there was nothing in the news about Kane, but NHL rumor accounts on twitter had reported that the Blackhawks were extremely disappointed with Patrick Kane and trade rumors were starting to swirl. Then things solidified.

 

I was in dismay. But it wasn’t because I couldn’t believe Kane could do something like this, but that he was dumb enough to put himself in a situation like this. After watching countless interviews of the talented forward, I could tell that in the past few seasons he had matured. He was figuring out how to be a leader on the ice and in the locker room. He was developing into a veteran forward, a person who knew how the league worked and how to succeed in it. So when it was announced that he was involved in a matter this serious, it instantly made my perception of Patrick Kane shift.

Kane’s scheduled day with the Stanley Cup went from a city-wide celebration to a small, closed party at his home. Later, Kane would be pulled off the cover of EA sports’ popular hockey video game NHL 16, leaving fellow Blackhawk’s star Jonathan Toews the lone cover athlete. Team owner Rocky Wirtz expressed disappointment in each quote he gave about the topic during the summer, but otherwise refused to give anymore incite. From that point on, nobody would hear anything for almost a month, as the case was staying behind closed doors. Both lawyers would give statements, saying their client’s intentions and how they believed each were going to win their case, but nothing beyond that. Few details would be dispensed over twitter along with fringe stories on sites like Deadspin or Bleacher Report, but nothing groundbreaking. It would just be details from people who saw Kane and the woman together that night (much of which was heavily biased towards Patrick Kane being innocent or “victim-blaming” the woman claiming rape). With zero details being released to the public on the case, social media speculations were abundant. Within all this, trade rumors began to build, as even respected journalists began to assume Kane and the Blackhawks were on the verge of splitting ways.

The case would only become more bizarre on September 22nd, when Kane’s accuser’s attorney Thomas J. Eaonnou called for a news conference to be held the next day. Eaonnou explained he would not be representing the alleged rape victim after a tampered (but legitimate) rape kit from the case was found on the victim’s mother’s doorstep. Eaonnou did say during his press conference that the victim’s case was still strong, but he felt the victim and her mother were not being forthcoming with how the kit was found (translation: he thinks they still have a case, he just can’t trust them because he doesn’t believe their story on how the rape kit was found). All of this happening while Patrick Kane was reporting to the campus of Notre Dame for the start of Blackhawks training camp.

Some reactions from Twitter:

 

 

Kane’s lawyer Paul Cambria was quoted in this NBC Chicago article calling the whole thing “forever tainted” in his eyes. “This happening today bizarre,” Cambria said. “I have been practicing criminal law for many years, I’ve had many cases all over the United States, and I have to say this is a shocking, shocking development.” Cambria would also infer from the developments that “somebody attempted to use him to fabricate or obstruct and undermine science.” in reference to Kane and the apparent lost and rediscovered rape kit.

It became obvious any charges would be dropped (even after the tampering claims were recanted by Eaonnou), and Kane would walk away from the nightmare with his reputation still somewhat intact. At this current time, Kane isn’t officially “out of the woods”, with the case technically still not closed. But with only some type of settlement as the accuser’s best option, Patrick Kane might be losing some money but nothing else. The NHL is still holding its own investigation, so Kane could potentially still see some type of punishment from the league, but at this point it seems unlikely.

Shifting focus back to the ice, Patrick Kane is having a truly incredible season. Having just tied Blackhawks legend and current team ambassador Bobby Hull’s consecutive points streak at 21 games, he goes for the team record tonight at home against the Winnipeg Jets. If it is any other player on the Blackhawks, I would be ecstatic. I hope him and the Blackhawks the best, but I’m finding it hard to cheer for someone who was accused of rape. Regardless of what really happened, he put himself in that situation and that just sits with me wrong. Kane released a statement saying he was “innocent” but never explained more than that saying his focus was on the season (which seems to be paying off so far). Charges were eventually dropped, and the accuser has said she does not want to cooperate with the investigation anymore, stating the case had brought “tremendous stress to her and her family” (reports from the Erie County D.A.’s office also cite a lack of DNA evidence). So the case might have being leaning towards Kane anyways, but sadly nobody will truly know what happened that night besides Patrick Kane and his accuser. Which leaves me (and all the other Hockey fans) with two options, either move on and go back to loving Patrick Kane, or hold the incident against him forever and subsequently hate America’s best hockey player.

I’ll probably start to find my way back to appreciating Kane’s dangling and deking, but as of right now, I’ll stick to my wearing my Toews sweater.

 

(Patrick Kane assisted on an empty net goal, to extend his streak to 22 games)

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