The NHL has decided not to discipline Blackhawks star Patrick Kane for the rape allegations brought against him in August, deeming the claims “unfounded.”

Back in November, the Erie Country district attorney’s office announced it would not prosecute Kane in light of “significant material inconsistencies between the complainant’s accounts and those of other witnesses.”

As Deadspin fairly points out, the NHL’s statement more strongly absolves Kane of the rape allegations than the DA’s statement did, which doesn’t make much sense given that the police almost certainly have a more complete picture of the evidence than the league. For NHL to pronounce the charges against Kane “unfounded,” they must be pretty confident in his innocence… or just really invested in him as a face of their league.

Anyway, with the DA not moving forward with Kane’s case and the NHL declining to discipline him, it looks like Kane is officially past the allegations.

Kane, who has had issues (rumored or otherwise) off the ice throughout his eight-year career but has put it together on the ice this season, leading the NHL in points and ranking second to Alex Ovechkin in goals scored.

 

About Alex Putterman

Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.