An Open Letter to Patrick Kane

Mr. Kane,

In the past few months, some terrible allegations have been thrown your way and everybody has something to say about you. While I agree with many people’s opinions, I think the millions of sports writers have missed a very important point that I think, I know needs to be adressed.

Back in 2009, you and your cousin were arrested for beating up a cab driver back in your hometown because he didn’t have the change for your fair. The change? Twenty cents. Twenty cents! You’re a millionare and you punched a guy over twenty cents? I get it, you were young and stupid, but you did know right from wrong. You were charged with second-degree robbery, fourth-degree criminal mischief, and theft of services and ended up getting away with multiple felonies and got off easy, most likely because of your millions of dollars and celebrity status. You apologized later to your family, hometown, and the Blackhawks organization publicly a few weeks after the trial, but you never publicly apologized to the man you punched over two dimes.

You’d think you would’ve learned your lesson, but no you didn’t. You were under fire once again in 2012 after allegedly choking a woman and making anti-Semitic comments while highly intoxicated and getting kicked out of a bar for being too rowdy. Again, the Blackhawks organization was high disappointed and even angry with you.

Again, you didn’t learn from your previous actions and got yourself into yet another run in with the law this summer. On August 6th, it was reported by the Hamburg News that you were the target of a sexual assault investigation. The incident involved a woman who attended a party that was at your home and then you allegedly raped her. The latest rumors are that there isn’t enough evidence to prosecute you, but you’re going to have a lot of explaining to do.

The Blackhawks organization has expressed what they called “disappointment, anger, and sadness” after the news of the investigation. Whether or not these allegations are true, they have every right to be angry with you, and if you aren’t convicted, you may just find yourself traded once October rolls around, the Hawks have already received five calls regarding trading you. EA Sports has also pulled you from the cover of NHL16 and your teammate Jonathan Toews is the face of the new Bauer stick line while you continue to flush your reputation down the toilet.

Most stories I’ve read are simply journalists trying to figure out if you’re innocent or guilty, but that’s not what they should be discussing.

What the media has missed in your situation is the fact that by getting in all this trouble, you’ve disappointed countless kids who admire your skills on the ice.

Whether you like it or not, you’re a role model for countless kids who play hockey and they admire you because of what they see on TV.

My brother happened to be one of those kids. My brother is fourteen and admires the way you handle the puck, your ability to make plays, and score goals from anywhere on the ice. He even got the infamous Patty Kane mullet and, much to my avid Red Wings fan parents’ dismay, sports a Chicago Blackhawks hat and t-shirt every now and then.

How do you explain these things to a kid like him? Here’s a kid who thinks you’re absolutely awesome because you’ve won the Stanley Cup three times in your 26 years, not to mention the OHL Rookie of the Year Award, the 2010 Olympic Silver Medal, and your overtime winning goal in the 2010 playoffs that won you your first Stanley Cup. Here’s a kid who thinks the world of NHL stars like you and you’re giving him an absolutely horrible example. Has that ever even crossed your mind?

I hated telling him and my mom about the sexual assault investigation, how do you tell a kid that this player he thinks is amazing is actually a moron who doesn’t know how to act and regularly goes out in public while intoxicated and causes a scene nearly everywhere he goes.

Thankfully, he has much better role models to learn from and has parents who have already taught him right from wrong. Role models who may not be NHL superstars or Olympic athletes, but good people who are teaching him the right way to act.

Let’s take, for example, a former junior, current college player, and NHL Draft Pick who my brother met last year at hockey camp. First of all, this kid took an entire day out of his summer to come to the Hockey Ministries International camp last summer and skate with the younger kids at camp. My brother took a liking to him after a conversation he had with him at lunch and that was where it all began. He couldn’t wait until he could go watch him play against the NTDP that September. To make a long story short, the guy got traded in the middle of the season and ended up playing against our favorite team in the USHL League finals, where my brother was secretly rooting for his team. This guy came to camp once again this past year where he shared his own story and taught the kids invaluable lessons.

There are plenty of other examples of player whom my brother has looked up to over the years, but this particular player's story and example has really stuck with me.

The difference between he and you? Maturity. This guy is only 18, yet he realizes that he is, or soon will be, an example for younger kids as he progresses in his hockey career. You could really learn a lot from players like him,

The bottom line is here that you should know better.

Even if you are found innocent, or you aren’t prosecuted due to lack of evidence like the latest rumor says will happen, the damage you’ve done to your image will not be able to be erased. Your stupid actions will forever scar your reputation and countless kids around the country will forever be disappointed with someone who they thought was a role model.

You may never fully repair your reputation, I’m sure you’re aware of that by now after rumors of you being traded began circling. But that doesn’t mean you should continue to be irresponsible and, to be blunt, a drunken idiot. You can still salvage part of your image by apologizing,not only to the Blackhawks organization and fanbase, but to the kids and the parents of the kids that you’ve disappointed with your irresponsibility. It’s not too late to turn it around, but I hope that you’ve learned from your mistakes, because there are a lot of kids and parents out there who deserve an apology, it’s the least that you can do.

Regards,

Carly Costello