Patrick Kane Holds Disastrous Q&A At Blackhawks Training Camp

Patrick Kane, under investigation for an alleged rape at his house in Hamburg, N.Y. in August, was in attendance for the beginning of Blackhawks training camp today. The winger allowed questions, but didn’t answer anything worth answering.

Kane had an opening statement to read, and he didn’t do it correctly:

This has been an incredibly difficult time for many people. I cannot apologize enough for the distraction this has caused my family, my teammates, this incredible organization, and of course, our fans. While I have too much respect for the legal process to comment on an ongoing matter, I am confident that once all the facts are brought to light, I will be absolved of having done nothing wrong.

“Absolved of having done nothing wrong” would mean that he did indeed do something wrong. Maybe nerves got to him. When the Blackhawks tweeted about his statement, they did a little editing:

Media members were then allowed to ask Kane questions, provided the topic was hockey. You can guess how that went. Via Puck Daddy:

Kane was asked if he felt he embarrassed the organization.

“I appreciate the question,” Kane said, before dodging it.

Kane was asked if he ever considered staying home, and not being a distraction at camp.

“Again, I appreciate the question,” Kane said, before dodging it.

And on and on it went.

Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun Times apparently reached his breaking point, asking Kane if, regardless of the outcome of the investigation, he “would quit drinking.”

“Mark, I appreciate the question,” Kane said, before dodging it.

[...]

As one NHL player agent told Puck Daddy via text: “This was a terrible idea by himself, the team and his agent. This is doing everything they didn’t want to do.”

It’s nice that Kane appreciated all the questions.

Correction (5:52 p.m.): The first sentence of this article incorrectly stated that the rape allegedly occurred at a bar in upstate New York. The rape allegedly occurred at Kane’s house. The sentence has been corrected.

Photo: AP

Contact the author at samer@deadspin.com.