The alleged rape case involving Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane is becoming increasingly bizarre.
Kane is accused of raping a woman he invited to his home for a private party Aug. 2. Kane has maintained his innocence, and a rape kit showed that his DNA was not found on the accuser anywhere below the waist.
So why would this woman go straight to the hospital for an examination if she was not raped? She would have to know the exam results would prove her fallacies. Something is definitely off here.
Matters only became stranger last week when the accuser’s attorney Thomas Eoannou had a press conference to announce that the rape kit was anonymously delivered to the victim’s mother’s doorstep. It supposedly had been tampered with.
It was later revealed the rape kit was never delivered to the mother’s home and that the mother was involved in a hoax.
Eoannou called another press conference to announce his withdrawal from the case.
As more and more information is becoming available about the case, people are becoming quicker to judge one way or another.
There is no point in sitting around speculating whether or not Kane sexually assaulted a woman, because as of late, it seems like no one will ever know for sure what transpired that night. The only people who know what happened behind closed doors are Kane and his accuser.
At this point, the only way we would ever know if Kane assaulted the woman or not is if he himself came out and said, “I sexually assaulted that woman.”
Somehow, I do not see that happening anytime soon.
So why are people so quick to decide this woman is just looking for a payout or that Kane is just another perverted celebrity?
As a Blackhawks fan, I could still never imagine myself victim shaming this woman without really knowing the whole story.
Supporting Kane through this is one thing, but accusing a woman of lying about sexual assault is completely different.
While we should not automatically assume Kane is guilty, we should also not completely rule out the possibility that he is capable of something like this, as many Blackhawks fans already have.
With the derogatory comments I have seen online about this woman, it is no wonder many sexual assault victims never come forward.
According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, 68 percent of sexual assaults are never reported to law enforcement and 98 percent of rapists will never be sent to prison.
People who are quick to judge this woman are contributing to rape culture, regardless of whether Kane committed the crime or not.
As a society, we cannot afford to continue victim shaming and brushing off rape cases as if these crimes never happen.
Because rape does happen. Every 107 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted, according to the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network.
And it will continue until the issue is looked at as a serious crime and victims are taken seriously.
tatadams@indiana.edu
