The Buffalo News Taken to Task for 'Victim-Blaming' Quotes in Patrick Kane Rape Investigation Story

The Buffalo News was blasted Monday for inclusion of “victim blaming” passages in its report Sunday about the injuries police noted on the woman accusing pro hockey superstar Patrick Kane of rape.

On Sunday, the newspaper quoted police sources who described bite marks on her shoulders, a scratch on her leg and her general demeanor as “traumatized” and “frantic” in the hours after she spent time at Kane’s Hamburg, NY, mansion. The police sources also said the accuser told them Kane “overpowered” her.

The Buffalo News broke the story of the police investigation into the Chicago Blackhawks star last Thursday. He has not been arrested or charged with any crime, but the police chief confirms he’s the focus of an investigation.

In attempting to lend context to Kane’s actions and whereabouts on the night and morning in question, Aug. 1 and 2, The Buffalo News spoke with Mark Croce, the owner of SkyBar, a rooftop nightspot that Kane frequents often, and quoted him extensively.

Kane was at SkyBar the night he met a woman and brought her back to his house.

The passage called into question reads:

But Croce told The News that he and several of his employees noticed a young woman “hanging all over” Kane at SkyBar for at least two hours that night, putting her hands on his arms and “being very forward, very flirtatious with him.” He said he does not know the woman and does not know her name.

“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.”

Brian Moritz, an assistant professor journalism at the State University of New York, writes in his SportsMediaGuy.com blog:

It is utterly and totally irresponsible for The News to print this information. Even as the reporters hedged their bets, saying they could not confirm whether it was the same woman or not, there is no place for those paragraphs in any news story about any rape case.

What those paragraphs do is victim blame, pure and simple. It sets the table for the nauseous defense that the victim was asking for it. That she led Kane on. That there couldn’t possibly be any rape because she was all over him. ...

Even if the woman was hanging all over Kane all night, even if she left the bar with Kane, even if she went to his house, even if she went into Kane’s bedroom with him ... the second she (or any woman) says “stop” or “no,” that’s it. Everything that came before it is irrelevant. Once she says “stop” or “no,” game over.

That quote in today’s story - that’s an example of rape culture.

Croce also said “I’ve got no skin in this game,” saying he wanted to talk to The News because he thought Kane’s actions were being unfairly portrayed in news reports.

Matt Spiegel, speaking on 670 The Score Monday morning, noted how The Buffalo News failed to mention Croce indeed very much has “skin in the game” in terms of his own liability as the bar owner who served Kane and the woman prior to the alleged crime.

Croce also told The News Kane did not appear drunk to him, contrary to other patrons who tweeted that evening that he was “bombed” and that Kane himself admitted to being too drunk for photographs.

Under New York law, if a bar serves an intoxicated person and that person later injures a third party, the injured person may sue the bar for damages.

SkyBar also was to host the Stanley Cup this past weekend in a Kane celebration.

Alan Bedenko, blasting Croce’s “rank speculation” and The News’ decision to print that, wrote this on DailyPublic.com:

The first part of this article glosses over the limited facts about the alleged rape, but a full 80% of that article — give or take — is devoted to SkyBar owner Mark Croce going out of his way to portray Kane’s accuser as a lying, gold-digging whore of a bitch.

The Buffalo News is irresponsible for printing what Croce describes because he has no clue whatsoever that what he supposedly saw (let’s not rush to judgment on its truth or falsity, either) bears any relation — direct or indirect — to the underlying allegation that very wealthy privileged hockey star Patrick Kane raped and assaulted some nobody girl no one knows.

And on The Big Lead, a USAToday sports blog by Jason McIntyre:

(Croce) may not have realized it, but the way he framed all of this paints the woman in a very bad light. And calling Kane by his first name gives the appearance that they’re friends, and one could draw the conclusion that the owner of the bar is looking out for his friend.

Julie DiCaro, an update anchor on 670 The Score, a columnist for CBSChicago.com and a former defense lawyer, took issue not only with Croce’s comments, but with the rampant speculation in the public and on social media about the accuser’s motives and character.

DiCaro is not only an attorney but herself a rape victim. She writes:

When it comes to the Patrick Kane investigation, internet stupid abounds. And while it’s tempting to laugh off some of the comments as written by misguided juveniles with a serious case of hero worship, the problem is actually a much bigger one. Tweets, comments, rumors, and articles like those above are reflective of the way our society treats those who report rape, whether the accused is a famous athlete or not.

What do you think? Valuable insight into the night or “victim blaming”?

RELATED STORIES

• Patrick Kane’s Accuser ‘Frantic and Traumatized,’ Had Bite Marks on Her Shoulders: Sources
• Situation ‘Ominous’ and ‘Heinous,’ says Reporter Who Broke Story
• Patrick Kane’s Quiet Saturday with the Stanley Cup
• Rocky Wirtz and Blackhawks Feel ‘Anger, Disappointment, Sadness’
• Rape Accusation Leads Cops to Investigate Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane
• Patrick Kane’s Weekend According to Social Media