Twenty Cents?
Wow. I was not expecting this kind of news this summer. And I will not preface this story with any "kids will be kids" clichés either. Patrick Kane and his cousin, James Kane, were arrested early this morning after a cab driver was assaulted by the two men for failing to have twenty cents change for the cab ride that the Kanes took. That's right, readers: two dimes. Four nickels. Twenty pennies. The Kanes caught a cab from the downtown district in Buffalo around 4AM ET back to where ever they stopped, and attempted to pay the cab driver the $13.80 he was owed for his service. The Kanes offered $15 to the man. When the cab driver informed the two men that he did not have the twenty cents owed to the Kanes of the $1.20 in change, he ended up with cuts to his face and damaged glasses after he was reportedly grabbed by the throat and punched by both men.
Seriously, over 20 cents? Seriously?
Both men were charged with felony robbery and misdemeanour counts of theft of services and criminal mischief by Buffalo police officers. Patrick Kane has already pleaded not guilty in court while it is unknown whether James Kane will appear. The driver's claim is that he was assaulted by both men for not having twenty cents in change to give them.
Patrick Kane is earning $875,000. The cab driver probably earns $30,000, and that's being generous. Is Patrick Kane really that hard up for cash that he needs that twenty cents? I leave more change in the donation boxes at Tim Horton's when I'm buying coffee, and I don't make anything close to $875,000 per year.
I cannot fathom how a man, who is making nearly 30 times what the cabbie is making, decides to rob and assault the cab driver over TWO DIMES. Even if Patrick didn't hit the man, allowing James Kane to hit the cab driver is still unbelievable. It's TWENTY PENNIES! Walk away and leave him with a twenty-cent tip. I'm sure he can use the four nickels more than either of the Kanes can.
Forget the twenty cents. Where is Patrick Kane's common sense in all this? Why do stars of stage, screen, and sports put themselves into bad situations? If you're mature enough to sign a contract for more money than I'll ever see, you should be mature enough to not get into bad situations.
I'm not saying Patrick Kane is guilty by any means. He still deserves the opportunity to prove his innocence. But if there is any sort of classless act that someone can pull, it's splitting hairs - and lips, apparently - over twenty measly cents.
Seriously, how much more embarrassment can the Blackhawks take this summer?
EDIT: Here is the video interview, via TSN, with the cab driver who filed the claim. If you ask me, "JR" sounds fairly credible in his account. And still slightly confused as to why this happened.
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
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10 comments:
I wonder how drunk he was...because he better have been sh*tfaced. Not that alcohol should be an excuse but it would be way more embarrassing if he was sober.
As much as I'd like to agree, KM, I can't. I don't care how drunk you are. If you are a star in the public domain, the rules change for you whether you're 12, 20, or 80.
It might be unfair, but that's the way it is. If Kane is found guilty of the allegations, he should be made an example of.
He as always struck me as kind of an asshole, and this doesn't really do a whole lot to make me think otherwise.
Felonies are no joking matter, he's lucky he has the job he has, otherwise he'd never be able to hold one after this.
Also, anger management might be a good idea...
Oh Kids !!!!!!!!!!!! you don't have money... sad
Imaginary conversation on this subject:
"So, Pat Kane and his cousin take a $13.80 cab ride and give the driver $15."
"What? They tipped the guy a buck-twenty? Appalling."
"Uh, not exactly. They demanded change."
"Good Lord! That's ridiculous"
"Uh, yeah, but it gets worse. The guy didn't have any coins, so he just gave them a dollar for change."
"So they ended up tipping him 20 cents? Wow. Just... wow."
"Ummm... no. They roughed him up and grabbed their 15 dollars back from him. Oh, and for good measure, they also grabbed the hundred or so dollars that he had in his hand at the time."
"..."
I think the bigger issue here is why on earth is Kane out so late? I realize it's the offseason and yes, he's young but he's got too much on the line here.
When you sign that contract to make the bit $$, you need to prove that you are worth it, on the ice and OFF.
You know what, go out, have a few drinks, have some fun, but for the love of Pete man, get your ass home at a decent hour and keep your nose clean.
I'll run this down why he should not be given a light sentence.
1. He's under-age drinking.
2. He assaulted man.
3. His repeated asking of the cab driver "don't you know who I am" while the Kanes were administering the sound beating means that he thinks he's entitled to something he's not due to fame.
I added video of the cab driver now for this story. And to me, the cabbie sounds quite bewildered yet credible in his account of what happened.
I can't really say anything about the underage thing, but really, you are supposed to tip taxi drivers. I would have handed the man a 20 and been done with it.
So much bullshit. He's going on one minute about how he likes being treated "like a regular kid", and the next minute beating the hell out of a taxi driver and asking him why he doesn't know who he is?
Toews is gonna rip him a new one.
Hard to get out of the cab and walk away, when the cabbie locks you in the back.
It's also hard for the cabbie to unlock the doors when he's being choked and punched in the face, Anonymous.
He's preventing the fare from jumping out and taking off... WHICH HE'S ALLOWED TO DO. I'm pretty sure there's no code of conduct outlining riders and throwing punches, but that somehow seems like it would cross the line.
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