from Tim Baffoe of CBSChicago,

You don’t know him on a meaningful level. Maybe he signed your kid’s hat that one time. Maybe you took a picture with him at a golf outing a few years ago.

But Patrick Kane is not your friend. You are not his dawg, and he is not your bro. For all intents and purposes he doesn’t care about you no matter how many times you’ve swooned at him saying something about “not being able to accomplish this without you great fans.”

And you need to stop with the garbage default setting of rushing to defend him. Even under the guise of “innocent until proven guilty.”

History tells us that a story like this sexual assault allegation against Kane does not end well for anyone involved. It also suggests that should an outcome conclude in favor of Kane, the rape culture we live in and unbalanced system of law enforcement and judicial process in sexual assault cases does not mean he did nothing wrong.

I want you to realize that right now and acknowledge it and give it the credence it deserves. A lack of charge, prosecution, or guilty verdict over sexual assault does not mean sexual assault did not occur. It’s entirely possible no wrongdoing on Kane’s part went on, but innocent until proven guilty applies to this particular celebrity avoiding jail time. It does not exonerate him from what he and his accuser know happened between them. It does not help his frat boy reputation, which isn’t illegal but damn sure isn’t palatable once is crosses the line between drunk video cult hero and this kind of accusation. And it does not make his words at the most recent Blackhawks rally any less prophetic.

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