I first heard the rumour about three weeks ago. The story goes: Evander Kane was at Hy's Steakhouse with a group of people and tried to leave without paying the bill. When challenged by the waitress, he said something to the effect that he shouldn't have to pay because his presence there was a benefit to the restaurant.
I never mentioned this story before on social media because I had my doubts that it was true, and there was really no point in spreading a negative rumour anyhow. But then this happened:
Which led to this being written.
It's not out of the realm of possibility that the flashy-dressing young Kane did what the story says he did, but there are many other possibilities as well. Maybe there was a misunderstanding among the group about who was going to pay, and maybe Kane has a deadpan sense of humour and made a joke about not paying, even though he fully intended to. Maybe a waitress was just pissed about the tip she got, or maybe nothing happened at all and somebody with a bone to pick concocted the rumour out of thin air. Maybe he stopped at Co-op for a fill, and by word of mouth that turned into "stiffed a waitress on a bill."
You can't really blame Winnipeggers for believing that there's fire when they smell smoke. The rumours about the Jets coming back were obviously true, as were the rumours about IKEA coming and Tim being gay. (Inside joke. Please disregard if you don't know Tim.) However, whether it's true or not, we need to drop this whole thing ... as soon as I'm done writing this post.
If he didn't do it, then obviously it is wrong to imply that he might have. If he did do it, I am pretty sure he learned a lesson here and will not do it again.
Word gets around quickly in a small city like Winnipeg, and you just can't get away with that shit. Besides, he should get a second chance. He has a ton of potential, not just as a player but as an ambassador of the sport, and he's still very young. It is counter-productive in every way to anchor him to this story. It would also be unfortunate if the lesson that he took away from all this was that Winnipeggers are nasty and unforgiving.
That is all.
Yes, I am aware that this post may seem somewhat hypocritical.
By the way, if you haven't checked out my Oduya comic strip yet, click here.
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12 comments:
Kane gets a lot of flack. I hope the rumours aren't true, or are at least exaggerated. Either way, that sign holder was out of line. That said, wasn't Lawless the guy who brought up the rumours about Kane in the first place?
I don't know .. did he mention it somewhere else besides today's article? A rumour is kind of like the bird flu. It's almost impossible to track it back to the person who screwed the chicken.
This is a far more sensible comment than Lawless's self-serving article.
thanks.
Just for the record, it seems there is a player on every NHL team (at least in Western Canada), that is a lighting rod for unsubstantiated gossip. I currently reside in Edmonton, and have heard the locals talk about Taylor hall in the exact same way. In Calgary, it was ex-Flame Dion Phaneuf.
Before the internet became popular, there were the Theoren Fleury's and Keith Tkachuk's of the world. I have a feeling this will not be the first, nor the last time we hear about the supposed antics of pro athletes in Winnipeg.
PS...Lawler has nothing on ex-Free Press sports reporter Scott Taylor:
http://jetsnation.ca/2012/1/22/has-a-city-turned-on-a-star-player
You're right .. this is nothing new. Back in the Tkachuk days it just wasn't as 'out there' as it is now.
I don't miss Scott Taylor.
Kane made in onto Janurary's thedirt.com. Seems like he's a creep textr
I've checked out "thedirty.com" on two or three occasions in my life. I try to avoid that site, as I feel "dirty" after browsing the site. I suppose I went on it for the "train-wreck" factor that it seems to leave you with. It is beyond me why the site has not been shut down. You would think it would be a legal minefield.
Chippman has already flown Kane's daddy in to talk to his dumb son. Ha ha. Maybe daddy should have given him a spankking
Anon: Can't let that sort of unsubstantiated stuff stay on my blog. Had to delete your first comment. Yes .. even my low standards were broken there.
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