Bar owner says woman was ‘hanging all over’ Patrick Kane

Law enforcement officials are still investigating a recent incident involving Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane, and all signs point to the investigation centering around rape allegations. That has not been confirmed by police, however.

The Buffalo News, which first reported that Kane has been accused of rape, provided some details about the alleged incident over the weekend that many believe were completely inappropriate. More specifically, people are outraged over the paper publishing comments from the owner of the club where Kane was spotted the night of the alleged encounter.

Mark Croce, the owner of SkyBar in Buffalo, told The Buffalo News that he witnessed a young woman “hanging all over” Kane and “being very forward, very flirtatious with him.” Croce admitted that he had no idea who the woman was or if she was the sexual assault accuser.

“It was almost like she stationed herself near him and was keeping other women away from him,” Croce said. “I noticed it and kind of laughed about it.”

Croce says the woman and a female friend then “followed” Kane and a couple of male friends out of the nightclub at around 3 a.m.

“I don’t know if this is the same woman who made the rape allegation against him,” he said. “I only know what I saw that night on my own premises. If you’re going to ask what happened between them after they left that night, how would I know?”

First of all, we haven’t the slightest idea if the woman who was supposedly “hanging all over” Kane at the bar is the same woman who allegedly accused him of rape. But we do know that the alleged victim reportedly had visible injuries on her when she went to the hospital to have a rape kit performed and was questioned by police.

Many believe The Buffalo News’ decision to publish Croce’s quotes sets a narrative of Kane being falsely accused, since there was a woman — we don’t know who — seemingly throwing herself at him inside the club.

Kane may have been falsely accused. That’s always a possibility. But if it turns out that he did do something wrong and the woman who accused him was the one who was flirting with him at the bar, that will be a bad look for both Croce and The Buffalo News. Flirting does not — and will never — justify sexual assault.