Chicago Blackhawks hockey player Patrick Kane won’t be on the cover of the NHL 16 video game because he is being investigated by police, EA Sports announced Wednesday.
In a statement posted on Twitter, EA Sports said, "In light of the ongoing investigation of Patrick Kane, he will no longer be a spokesperson for the launch of EA Sports NHL 16." The post also said he would not appear on the cover or as part of any other promotional activities.
No charges have been filed against Kane, but he is being i
nvestigated in connection with rape charges, The Buffalo News reported.
A woman told police that Kane raped her at his Hamburg, Illinois, home on Aug. 2 after she accompanied a friend there, the News said.
An unidentified friend of the alleged rape victim told the News, "They were at SkyBar, and Kane invited them to his home. Her friend really wanted to go to Kane’s house, and she didn’t want her friend to go there alone. It wasn’t her idea to go there."
Kane and attorney Paul Cambria Jr. have not commented on the rape allegations, the newspaper said.
The accusations against Kane have prompted an online debate about the media’s rape coverage, with accusations of victim shaming, some aimed at the News.
The News interviewed the manager of the Buffalo bar, SkyBar, from which Kane left with two women on Aug. 2. The manager said a woman had been hanging all over Kane during the evening, although he could not say whether it was the woman who was accusing the hockey star of rape.
"It is utterly and totally irresponsible for The News to print this information,"
wrote The Sports Media Guy in a blog. "What those paragraphs do is victim blame, pure and simple. It sets the table for the nauseous defense that the victim was asking for it. That she led Kane on. That there couldn't possibly be any rape because she was all over him."
Related Stories:
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.