First of all, it happened. It probably shouldn't have. In fact, there is a strong argument that Patrick Kane should not be attending training camp with his Chicago Blackhawks teammates at all. He is currently under investigation for allegedly raping a young woman in his hometown of Buffalo in August. He has not yet been charged and the grand jury that will determine whether there is enough evidence to proceed was pushed back, reportedly because of settlement negotiations between the lawyers of Kane and the young woman. That, of course, raises issues of it's own, as paying your way out of potential criminal charges is very wrong. Regardless of what is actually happening at the moment, it is clear that the situation is far from resolved. That is the problem.

As long as this investigation is ongoing, Patrick should not be at training camp. His presence is a black cloud hanging over the team and the league. It doesn't send a particularly good message to ask fans to keep cheering for someone accused of sexually assaulting a woman. Could they not have waited until Kane was charged or it was announced he wouldn't be? What does that say to potential victims of professional athletes, or any woman who is the victim of sexual assault? It clearly says that hockey is more important than any of that. In a society where it is believed that less than three percent of rapes are reported, where there is an extreme stigma against women who report it, and where professional athletes can get away with much, much more than regular people, it is a very dangerous and destructive message to send. 

At the press conference, the Blackhawks brought Kane out to read a prepared statement and not answer questions. They requested that all questions be hockey-related, which a three year old could have told you was not going to happen. They clearly established that they are behind their player. Then they bragged about how great the team is for a while. It apparently occurred to nobody involved just how bad it would sound to open with statements on a serious criminal investigation and then sing the organization's praises. Team president John McDonough going on about the ultimate fan experience and humanizing the players by to create strong fan relationships showed absolutely no understanding of public opinion and cultural reality in 2015, particularly post Ray Rice. 

If the team insists on allowing the player to attend camp and having him speak to the press, there are ways they could have handled it. They could have explained that they believe in the rule of the law and will let the process play out. They could have made some canned statement about how they as an organization condemn sexual assault, even while reminding everyone that Kane has not yet been charged. Instead, they sent the message that the whole situation is a preface to get out of the way before getting to what is truly important, hockey. The problem is, some things are bigger than the game. McDonough summarized how out of touch the team was when he told reporters that the team's success was based on doing things "the right way." In response to a question about the optics of having Kane at camp during the investigation, he said, "I am not tone deaf." Much of the public begs to differ, Mr. McDonough.