Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Views On Patrick Kane And The Chicago Blackhawks

09/18/2015 at 7:38am EDT

from Damien Cox of Sportsnet,

Few seem to like the fact the Chicago Blackhawks have invited Patrick Kane to their training camp. That seems clear, based on the columns and headlines and general commentary.

The Hawks are OK with it, needless to say, and clearly Kane is OK with it, as are his advisers. The NHL? That’s unclear, although it seems at least possible the league really wasn’t consulted at all, or told the club this decision was theirs to make. Hawks president John McDonough only said the team spoke to Kane’s "legal representatives" about the decision, and that was it.

So just the Hawks and Kane’s lawyers, both highly motivated to get him into camp regardless of any impact that may have on the league or the sport.

Those who passionately say Kane shouldn’t be there argue their case on two points.

First, they would argue it is an affront to women and the ugly problem of violence against women to allow Kane to get on with his life while it’s being decided whether he should be charged with rape.

It’s a fair argument. But he hasn’t been charged, and may never be charged.

continued

from Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune,

Tone deaf for an organization that always seems to play the right notes.

Particularly stunning was McDonough's characterizing the Hawks' three Stanley Cups in six years as a "Camelot'' era.

Seriously? "Camelot'' after refusing to comment on a sexual assault investigation?

The legal process is real and serious. Kane's fate hangs by it.

The upcoming season with many personnel changes was something for another day.

more

from Melissa Isaacson of ESPN,

I thought about the message I had sent to my kids over the years, that if they had listened to me about any other assault case, they would surely give the victim the benefit of the doubt. And if they listened to me waxing poetic about standing with Kane's parents in the bedroom of his boyhood home for a story I wrote his rookie season, how they might not.

But any murkiness I might have had was swiftly wiped out after my conversation with my daughter. She asked why, if Kane was being investigated, he was not suspended. She talked about how, in our society, the victim so often has the burden of defending herself against an onslaught of doubt.

"'He-said-she-said' is who didn't take out the garbage," my daughter said, annoyed with the inherent suggestion in the expression so often used when discussing sexual assault cases. "He-said-she-said is not sexual assault. ...

"It's a case of power. Not only man against woman, which is historically a struggle in our society, but money against no money and fame against no fame."

more

from Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star,

Here’s what the Chicago Blackhawks could have done: After bringing Patrick Kane to training camp, despite the ongoing sexual assault investigation, they could have explained themselves. They could have said, we believe in the rule of law, and we will let the process play out, and Patrick has not been charged with a crime. As an organization, these are the things we believe.

It would have largely been hogswallop, but at least you can argue the point. It is true that Kane, their star winger, has not been charged with a crime. The grand jury has been postponed. He is, in the eyes of the law, innocent until proven guilty. There are only a few people who know what really happened, and I am not one of them. Neither, almost certainly, are you.

continued

from Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times,

John McDonough whiffed on one question after another, Patrick Kane was ineffective in a limited role despite a surprise start, Stan Bowman was virtually invisible and Joel Quenneville could only sit helplessly as the Blackhawks lost the opening press conference of the 2015-16 season, about 47-1, Thursday at the Compton Family Ice Arena.

continued

from David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune,

Mark Thursday as the day the Hawks resembled everybody else in professional sports; evasive, defensive and occasionally combative in the wake of crisis, cowering to controversy rather than addressing it head-on the way a proud, classy organization should. The way the Hawks typically have.

Not this time. There are public-relations missteps and corporate misjudgments, and then there is what the Blackhawks produced in a clumsy 45-minute news conference, or whatever it was. This was Bill Wirtz-era bad. This was an exercise in embarrassment for the Hawks, Chicago and the NHL.

read on

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About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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