Don’t Read Patrick Kane Articles
Don’t read Patrick Kane articles, but you expect me to read this one? Yeah, so you got me, but the message here is true, and I believe more people should pay attention to what I’m about to say than fill your thoughts and base your opinions off of the messages coming out of The Buffalo News.
Tim Graham, who has been a very well respected member of the TSN radio crew and journalist for The News, originally broke the Kane story. It seems that was the end of proper reporting from just about any source out there. Once the original story that Kane is being investigated for a possible rape, stories then went out of bounds by quoting bar owners and giving accounts that would sway the public opinion of the accuser.
The Buffalo News has told stories from a bar owner and an off-duty police officer’s perspective, which give the reader the suggestion there was a consensual arrangement between Kane and the accuser. Additionally, they have published accounts from friends and co-workers of the accuser, which additionally sway your interpretation of Kane and what happened that night.
I’m not going to speculate if there was wrong doing that night, but rather warn anyone looking for news to hold until there is either sound evidence that something illegal did, or did not occur in the early hours of August 2nd. A bar owner, police officer, friend, or a co-worker were not in the room when the moment in question took place. While a lawyer may call them as witnesses, and a judge may accept their testimony, you and I are not on jury duty and more than likely have too many emotions to rationally decide what happened.
While I try to articulate my thoughts, surprisingly a pair from the Buffalo News has expressed what I’d like to say. Bucky Gleason and Jerry Sullivan wrote an article, ‘Speculation is out of line in Patrick Kane case.’
“You hope the allegation isn’t true because no sensible person would root for any crime, and particularly that crime, to be committed. At the same time, if a crime was committed, justice should be swift and severe. Only two people involved know exactly what happened.”
The article expresses a plea for people to hold off their judgements until, hopefully, all the details come out. Afterall, if you blindly assume Kane is innocent you assume someone you have no information on is making up an extremely damaging story for personal gain. Believing Kane is guilty without proof further damages his livelihood, which could very well carry over even if he is cleared from any charges.
Ultimately we have to understand, regardless of how much we are emotionally invested in Patrick Kane the hockey player, we have zero access to his personal life. Even if you met him at a local bar and he bought you a shot, it doesn’t mean he’s a good guy, it just means you were in the right place at the right time. Tim Baffoe skillfully told us, ‘Patrick Kane is not our friend‘, and he is not. He is everything but our friend.
I’m not an expert on criminal investigations, I don’t know what happened that night, and I don’t know what it is like to be raped or to be accused. While I won’t make any assertions to what happened that night, I’m not going to pretend to present you with evidence on the case as well. I agree with the Bucky and Sully when they say,
“let’s take a deep breath and a step back while the case unfolds.
Two lives have been turned upside down before our eyes. Both could be ruined by the time the case is closed, if they’re not already.”
There is a real chance neither make it through the case – innocent, guilty, or somewhere in between – let’s stop playing judge and allow the legal process to unfold.
Great read!