EA Sports Takes Patrick Kane Off Cover Of NHL 16
(CBS) EA Sports has taken Blackhawks star Patrick Kane off the cover of its NHL 16 video game in light of rape allegations against him, the company announced Wednesday afternoon.
"In light of the ongoing investigation involving Patrick Kane, he will no longer be a spokesperson for the launch of EA SPORTS NHL 16," the company said in a statement posted to Twitter. "He will not appear on the EA SPORTS NHL 16 cover nor participate in other NHL 16 promotional activities."
Kane hasn't been charged yet, but police in Hamburg, N.Y., have opened an investigation after a woman said that Kane invited her back to his house in the early morning hours of Aug. 2 after they met at the bar and then raped her. Neither Kane nor his lawyer have commented yet. The Blackhawks have made no comment other than owner Rocky Wirtz saying that the organization is "disappointed yet hopeful."
In June after the Blackhawks won their third Stanley Cup in six years, EA Sports announced that Kane would share the cover with teammate and Chicago captain Jonathan Toews.
Toews will now have the NHL 16 cover to himself.
Kane previously was on the cover of NHL 10, which was released in 2009 and ahead of the season in which these era of Blackhawks won their first Stanley Cup.
Sports attorney Exavier Pope says, "Whatever brands that may be with Patrick Kane may follow suit because they may get the same kind of pressure as a result of what happened to EA sports today."
There was some fan anger Wednesday night outside a game store in Niles.
"I don't understand it," said Kane fan Logan Bland. "Why would they take him off just for some allegations against him? We don't even know if they're true yet."
A spokesman for Bauer Athletics released a statement saying, "Patrick Kane is currently a Bauer athlete, but we are obviously aware of the investigation announced late last week by the Hamburg Police Department and we are closely monitoring the situation."
