A Question Worth Asking Patrick Kane: What's With The Smirk?

The mugshot begs the question. The kid had to know at this point how serious the situation was. And he had to know that his big head and NHL star status wasn't going to get him out of this one. So why would he ever in his right mind decide to have a who-gives-a-sh*t look on his face? I'll tell you why. He wasn't in his right mind. The kid was drunk as a skunk and thought he could buy his way out of it (which is undoubtedly what most of us would think if we were him). But this opens up an entirely new can of worms. Patrick Kane is 20 years old and last time I checked that doesn't provide legal eligibility rights to drink alcohol in the United States of America.

So lets summarize his actions: We have assault, robbery and underage drinking. If The Hasty pieces this together, it sounds as though he got hammered with his cousin and at the end of the night (5am) they took a cab home. When it was time to pay the fare, the taxi driver locked the doors until he received his money due (as he says he always does). When Kane and his cousin paid, the cab driver said he did not have the 20 cents change, and therefore they punched the driver, took back their money, and ran off. Um, way to think this one through Patrick. But lets remember that he is innocent until proven guilty. And as horrible and convincing the reports are, there does seem to be some serious doubt of his guilt. First off, the driver's lawyer says this is all way "overblown". Also, does anyone else think it is just a little creepy for the cab driver to lock the doors? If you or I were drunk I'm not sure we would react very well to that either. But more importantly, the cab driver was reportedly driving with two DUIs and no license. That's unbelievable -- if true. Talk about taking everything he claims with a grain of salt.

Clearly something happened here though, and certainly it was illegal. The question is whether Kane committed a crime. Maybe one of the two boys simply shoved the driver when he locked them in the car. And maybe no one stole back the fare money at all. The thing Kane can't deny is the boozing piece of this puzzle. He was clearly drunk. But the good thing for Kane is that somehow he was not charged with underage drinking. Does he look drunk in his mugshot to you? C'mon. This situation wreaks in every way and don't be surprised if it ends in a money settlement. Welcome to America.