No doubt that by now, most of you have heard the allegations directed at NHL star and Buffalo native Pat Kane and his cousin. Sounds like a PR disaster, falling on the heels of a new Buffalo hockey rink dedication only a day or two prior, wherein Kane established himself as what appeared to be the classy, mature-for-his-age leader we had seen taking his team on an impressive playoff run.
At the moment, Kane has been charged with second-degree robbery, fourth degree criminal mischief, and theft of services. Kane has pleaded not guilty. Yikes. Pretty rough stuff for a guy Buffalo unofficially appointed as prodigal son. You have to be pretty important when your hometown hockey team throws you your own "Welcome Home" ceremony before a regular season game the way the Sabres did prior to the December 2007 game.
It all seems weird to me. Their fare was $13.80, and they handed the guy $15. Obviously, change would be $1.20. But the cabbie didnt have the $.20. And then THIS happens? What's really going on here? Is it really a case of "Don't you know who I am?" like the cab driver claims? I really hope not. There's not a whole lot of things a celebrity can say that make my blood boil quite like "Don't you know who I AM?" It just seems like $.20 is a strange amount of money to get fired up about for a guy scheduled to make $875,000 this year.
That's why I'm confused. I like Pat Kane. He plays hard and makes his teammates better. But assaulting a cab driver over $.20? Am I missing something? Obviously we won't know the entire story until later on, and even then, we probably won't know the whole truth. What do you think?
(Photo courtesy, The Goose Roost)
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At the moment, Kane has been charged with second-degree robbery, fourth degree criminal mischief, and theft of services. Kane has pleaded not guilty. Yikes. Pretty rough stuff for a guy Buffalo unofficially appointed as prodigal son. You have to be pretty important when your hometown hockey team throws you your own "Welcome Home" ceremony before a regular season game the way the Sabres did prior to the December 2007 game.
It all seems weird to me. Their fare was $13.80, and they handed the guy $15. Obviously, change would be $1.20. But the cabbie didnt have the $.20. And then THIS happens? What's really going on here? Is it really a case of "Don't you know who I am?" like the cab driver claims? I really hope not. There's not a whole lot of things a celebrity can say that make my blood boil quite like "Don't you know who I AM?" It just seems like $.20 is a strange amount of money to get fired up about for a guy scheduled to make $875,000 this year.
That's why I'm confused. I like Pat Kane. He plays hard and makes his teammates better. But assaulting a cab driver over $.20? Am I missing something? Obviously we won't know the entire story until later on, and even then, we probably won't know the whole truth. What do you think?
(Photo courtesy, The Goose Roost)
It's all so bizarre. For a guy who logged 42 min. in penalties last season, and with his invitation to play for the US hockey team, it seems so out of character. Unless the cab driver said something else to set them off, it just doesn't make sense.
What I haven't heard is whether alcohol played a factor. You have to think that at 4 AM they may have had one too many.