Jockstraps get real problems. Before the New York criminal courts, there stands accused one Paul Kane, a NHL hockey player, from the Chicago Blackhawks. The police in New York have leveled assault charges, theft and mischief charges.
One of the major accusations was that the accused did all this over twenty cents. The cabbie didn't have twenty cents change. So it is alleged that Kane and a buddy beat up the cabbie and took back $15.00 in fare.
Whether or these things are true will or might be decided in a court of law. A man was obviously beaten for some reason. The police have sufficient reason to lay charges without the fancy dance of going through the Grand Jury process.
Yet what bothers me is the absolute double standard that most (not all) Canadian sportswriters apply in this case when compared with the reaction to the serious charges laid against Michael Vick several years ago.
In the Kane case, apologies emerge defending Kane by saying that the cabbie wasn't licensed. The taxi driver had a couple of driving convictions in years past. The writer in the story attached to this blog, didn't refer to Kane as an alleged criminal.
Instead Kevin McGran, alleged reporter, sought to criminalize the victim in the very first line of his writing. "The cab driver who is the alleged victim of a beating..."
The "sports reporter" then goes onto vilify Radecki by citing past indiscretions of this driver. This reporter is not an aberration in sports media. Personal bias runs into almost every story. Facts rarely expose themselves.
The fact of whether or not Radecki had past convictions has absolutely nothing to do with being beaten up. The alleged criminals of which Kane is one, beat up a driver. The fact that the cab was illegitimate gave no right for the alleged to beat the crap out of a driver, steal money that they had contractually agreed to pay which is theft, and that the whole episode evolved over twenty cents.
So here is the comparison. A guy who staving of poverty consents to give two jerks a ride. One of the jerks earns at least a half million after agent fees which is probably about twenty years net wages for the guy giving them the ride. The fact of twenty cents hasn't been challenged.
What also bothers me is the fact that these same writers jumped over Michael Vick almost convicting him before the fact for what he did to dogs. I don't mean to diminish the seriousness of what Vick did, but Kane did it to a human being and is alleged to have done this for the sum value of twenty cents.
Like Vick, Kane is denying everything. He is a hockey star after all. In Vick's case, the NFL suspended him until the court proceedings and criminal punishment had moved through its course. Unlike Vick, Kane faces no suspension until the court matters are settled.
And if the same righteousness, that was applied to Vick, was applied to Kane: He will never get a job in the NHL again. But the sports writers don't believe in consistency, or equality in race, sport or crime, or good journalism.
This article is inserted for the education of the students of the digital watchers.
SPORTS REPORTER
The cab driver who is the alleged victim of a beating by NHL star Patrick Kane and his cousin on Sunday didn't have a valid driver's licence at the time of the incident, the Buffalo News reported Tuesday.
The newsaper said Jan Radecki, 62, also has two drunk driving convictions.
Radecki had a cab licence in the City of Buffalo since May 1996 and became licensed with the city for a Chrysler minivan in 2003. Radecki's driver's licence, however, was revoked in December 1998 after he refused to submit to a chemical test, according to state Department of Motor Vehicle records. He was issued a conditional licence by the agency after the incident.
Four months later, in April 1999, Radecki's licence again was revoked, this time for a driving while intoxicated charge, according to state records.
According to City Court records, Radecki pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated charges in February 1999. He was sentenced to 15 days in jail and three years' probation.
Radecki's lawyer, Andrew LoTempio, told the News:
"I know he went into [Alcoholics Anonymous] and has not drank since then."
His client also served no jail time for the conviction because the 15 days was a suspended sentence, he said.
LoTempio told reporters Monday he believed the incident was blown out of proportion, suggesting Radecki had mistaken the Kanes for college kids when he picked them up at 4 a.m. Sunday in a nightclub district.
LoTempio said it is usual for cabbies to lock riders in the cab to make sure they pay.
The Kanes paid $15 for a $13.80 fare, and got $1 change. The alleged beating and robbery took place when the cabbie said he did not have a further 20 cents for the two.
The Kanes have a felony hearing scheduled in Buffalo City Court on Monday. Patrick Kane has been invited to the Team USA Olympic Orientation camp, starting Monday.
Kane's lawyer, Paul J. Cambria Jr., said he would ask that the hearing be rescheduled for later next week. He also said he believes Kane will be exonerated once all the evidence comes to light.
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