ESPN Isn't Buying Patrick Kane's B.S.

Blackhawks star Patrick Kane allegedly assaulted a cabbie who would not give him 20 cents change. He spent time in jail, and now the grand jury is hearing his case.

Well, this morning, he issued the following apology:

"Because I put myself in being in the wrong position in the wrong time, I've caused a lot of pain for my family and my hometown of Buffalo, the city of Chicago, the Chicago Blackhawks and obviously the great fans we have here in Chicago," Kane said. "And for that part I sincerely apologize."

We've seen a lot of non-apology apologies in the sports world (Omar Minaya's recent pretend apology to Adam Rubin comes to mind) but this one seems exceedingly egregious. Kane doesn't mention what actually happened, and apologizes for being in the wrong position. Kane didn't give up a goal. This is about more than positioning. This is obviously BS.

But the amazing part is that ESPN's news story calls him out on it. The paragraph right after his quote explains (emphasis mine):

Kane's statement, given before the start of the U.S. Olympic men's hockey orientation camp, lasted less than a minute and added no new details of what transpired in Buffalo, given the ongoing legal proceedings.

Even better than that... here is ESPN's lede to that story. I am not editing it in any way:

Patrick Kane said he was "sincerely" sorry for his actions that led to his recent arrest following an altercation with a cab driver in Buffalo, N.Y.

That's amazing. In their reporting of the facts, ESPN called Patrick Kane's apology "sincere" in quotes.

There are so many examples of media trying to present facts as equal even when one side is clearly right (think about how much airtime the "birthers" got recently), it's refreshing to see a news piece call out bullshit where it so obviously exists.

Patrick Kane - As a fan, ESPN "accepts" your apology.