Bernstein: Bar Owner's Patrick Kane Comments Spur Backlash

By Dan Bernstein--
CBSChicago.com senior columnist

(CBS) If he thought he was aiding his friend by trying to smear Patrick Kane's accuser, Marc Croce accomplished the opposite.

The owner of the bar where Kane was spotted drinking on Aug. 1 before the alleged sexual assault later in the wee hours, Croce tried to paint the woman as possessive and opportunistic in his comments to the Buffalo News. He went to bat for his buddy and tried to shield himself from litigation by saying Kane wasn't noticeably drunk, but a woman was "all over him" and "followed" Kane as he left.

The obvious attempts at public victim-blaming were pilloried on social media and by other outlets, and now they appear to have motivated others to come forward to the Buffalo News with new information.

"They were at SkyBar, and Kane invited them to his home," a friend of the accuser told the paper. "Her friend really wanted to go to Kane's house, and she didn't want her friend to go there alone. It wasn't her idea to go there."

The News also reports that two other sources -- "a law enforcement official and a member of Buffalo's legal community" -- provided similar accounts.

"The woman who was allegedly raped at Kane's home was not the woman who wanted to go there," the law enforcement official told the Buffalo News.

The story notes that, "Since Sunday, The News has spoken to four friends and co-workers of the alleged victim, all of whom say they were upset by comments made by Marc Croce."

As investigators continue to await results of forensic testing and weigh potential charges against Kane, Croce's oafish, bro-tastic reflexes have now hurt his guy more than helped.

Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. Follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.

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