"I Am Not a Role Model"

It's hard not to laugh at Evander Kane's recent string of trouble in and outside of the NHL. I'm not going to bring up the details of his personal life here, but the 21-game suspension he received today from the NHL regarding his violation of the NHL's COVID-19 protocols is just another test for the patience of the San Jose Sharks, his teammates and coaches, and fans of the team. You would think that he'd straighten himself out after filing for bankruptcy and having his personal life turned upside down, but it seems pretty clear that Evander Kane only answers to Evander Kane, and anyone else who tries to impose their rules - including societal rules - will have no effect on the petulant NHL player.

Due to the various investigations the NHL was doing regarding Kane's off-ice problems this summer, it led him to skip training camp with the Sharks and to miss the opening game of the season against the Winnipeg Jets. For some of his teammates who expressed displeasure with Kane's overall attitude in and around this dressing room, this may have been a blessing in disguise, but his new suspension will now keep himm away from the team, the rink, and team facilities until November 30. When it comes to winning a Stanley Cup, one would want their leading scorer in the lineup, but Kane has made decisions that will prevent that from happening.

Will we see that unhappiness expressed by his teammates turn to anger over Kane's latest revelation?

If you missed the announcement, Kane was suspended for submitting a fake COVID-19 vaccination card to the NHL and the Sharks regarding the NHL's requirement for players to conform to the COVID-19 protocols this season. Players who have refused to be quarantined have been sent to the AHL or worse for their refusals due to the fact that quarantine rules for crossing the Canada-US border is still in place. Any player not vaccinated would be required to quarantine for fourteen days upon entering Canada without proper vaccination documentation.

The irony is that San Jose is in Montreal on Tuesday, and Kane would have been required to show proof of vaccination to cross the border or face quarantine restrictions. I can't say whether the Canadian border services officers would have reviewed Kane's vaccination documentation directly, but there's a good chance that they would have detected that it was fake if they did. The egg on the face of the NHL, the Sharks, and Evander Kane had that happened would not have been something the NHL nor the Sharks would want. Kane, it seems, doesn't care.

I started this article at the top with Charles Barkley's famous line from a 1993 Nike commercial because we often elevate professional athletes as icons we should strive to be like. Barkley's commercial was about Barkley emphasizing that parents should be good role models for their kids whereas athletes could be admired, but weren't obligated to set the standards for which any child should follow. At the time, NBA Commissioner David Stern didn't like the message being delivered, and NBA star Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz "told 'Sports Illustrated' that NBA players were chosen as role models and that each person simply had the choice to be a good one or a bad one."

Perhaps this is where it should be pointed out that, for as talented as Evander Kane is on skates, his off-ice behaviour is something far different and he has chosen, in the words of Karl Malone, to be a bad role model. Whether it be his financial crisis, his personal life crumbling, his repeated and well-documented issues of not being a good teammate, or making a decision to purchase and submit a fake vaccination document to the NHL and the San Jose Sharks, Evander Kane's off-ice behaviour is something no one should be idolizing.

Twice in his career, Kane has told reporters that he could score 50 goals in a season - a total to which he has never been close - or that "40 or 50" goals was "doable". To date, Kane's best season for lighting the lamp season saw him score 30 - 2011-12 with the Jets and 2018-19 with the Sharks - as he still seeks those "40 or 50" goals in one season.

It's fairly evident that Kane has the skill to be an elite goal scorer in the NHL with his talent as he hasn't scored less than 20 goals in any season since 2015-16. He was likely on pace to break his 30-goal high last season had the NHL had a full 82-game schedule, so it's clear that Kane has the ability needed to be an elite scorer at the NHL level and that skill should have "Kane #9" jerseys flying off shelves.

Instead, Kane's erratic, questionable, and often bizarre behaviour off the ice has caused a lot of teammates, coaches, teams, and fans to sour on him as they look for him to lead in a positive manner, not how we've seen the last 24 months play out in his life. In reading the suspension announcement today, Kane will forfeit $1.68 million in salary that will only do further harm to his ability to repay mounting debts owed to various sources, and I can't help but think that a lot of the off-ice problems Kane has been dealing with have been self-inflicted only to be made worse by actions taken after the initial problems were presented.

Whatever happens in Evander Kane's career going forward, it's pretty clear that any conversation surrounding the sniper's talent will always be tarnished with stories of his off-ice problems. And maybe the lesson we, as fans, need to take away from Kane's situation is that athletes aren't required to be good role models for anyone. We expect them to be, but there's absolutely no reason they have to be.

Whether it be Evander Kane, Kyrie Irving, or Cole Beasley, their choices regarding vaccinations don't affect their play in their respective sports, but it does affect the well-being of their teammates, coaches, staff, and fans who may interact with them. They're welcome to hold whatever beliefs or theories they want about the vaccine, but good role models wouldn't be spouting off conspiracy theories nor turning in fake vaccine documents instead of getting the vaccine.

Even if Evander Kane is fully vaccinated as per the NHL's mandate for playing in the NHL this year, his decision to submit fake vaccination documents not only calls into question about the validity of his vaccination status, but it also calls into question his intelligence. And while no one is saying that NHL players have to be MENSA candidates, most of them are smart enough not to lie to their employers who are paying them millions of dollars to play a sport.

Kane's decision to lie to the Sharks and to the NHL is indefensible, and his apology for doing so rings hollow due to the fact that he got caught. He isn't sorry to anyone for doing what he did; rather, he's sorry he got caught which has put his career in jeopardy once again. At what point do people stop forgiving Evander Kane for his selfish, stupid decisions and start demanding better from him? At what point do the Sharks and the NHL finally say "enough's enough" to Evander Kane regarding this trouble trend of idiotic decisions that lead to rather embarrassing consequences for all involved?

Kane will sit for 21 games before returning to the Sharks. His future is anything but guaranteed in San Jose at this point, but it seems that the Sharks will re-assess Kane's status once the suspension is over. One of the conditions that I'd put on Evander Kane would be to start each and every interview with Charles Barkley's famous words.

Evander Kane is not a role model.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!