Blackhawks star Kane apologizes after cab incident

Blackhawks all-star winger Patrick Kane said Monday the most difficult part of his arrest and its aftermath has been the reaction from his family.

"Them seeing me in handcuffs is something they said they never want to see again," the 20-year-old Kane said. "My family never raised me that way."

Kane made his first public comments since his arrest Aug. 9 in Buffalo for an altercation with a taxi driver that led to charges of second-degree robbery, a Class C felony, and fourth-degree criminal mischief and theft of services, Class A misdemeanors.

Kane read a brief statement before the start of USA Hockey's Olympic orientation camp at Seven Bridges in Woodridge, apologizing for the incident that has made headlines throughout North America.

"I know everyone wants to talk about what happened in Buffalo," Kane said. "As you know, the legal proceedings are pending and I cannot discuss the details at this time.

"Because I put myself in the wrong position at the wrong time, that caused a lot of pain for my family, my hometown of Buffalo, the city of Chicago, the Chicago Blackhawks and obviously the great fans we have here in the Chicago - and for that part I sincerely apologize."

It was a contrite and weary-looking Kane who later met with reporters following practice. Although he didn't talk about the details of the arrest, he did talk about its impact.

"I've had support from a lot of people," Kane said. "Times like these you can live and learn and find out who your true friends are."

Hawks teammate Dustin Byfuglien gave his strong support to Kane.

"I think he has handled this very well," Byfuglien said. "It's good to see he has a lot of support around him. I don't think this is going to really affect him. You just tell him to hang in there and try to make him smile."

Kane will return to Buffalo on Thursday when the grand jury that heard the evidence announces its findings. After that, the case goes to trial or the charges are dropped or reduced from felonies.

"I haven't really told anyone my side of the story," Kane said. "The only ones who really know are my lawyers and my family.

"Obviously you want to tell it, but at a time like this you can't give too much. It's best for now just to stay quiet. - Hopefully you guys don't have to hear my side of the story. Hopefully we can get out of this as quick as possible."

Kane drew mostly cheers from the jam-packed crowd at Seven Bridges watching Team USA practice. He admits he has worried about how his arrest could damage his reputation and hurt certain endorsements.

"Obviously you're worried about different things that come into play, like being on the cover of the video game (EA Sports NHL '10), and coming to a camp like this," Kane said. "Everyone is starting to see not all the facts are out, that you can't just judge on the first impression of the story.

"From what I saw there still is a lot of support out there. There's always going to be a lot of comments and jokes for the next couple years, and I'm going to have to deal with it.

"From what they call me on the team, the Miley Cyrus of hockey, so all the little kids are going to give you a cheer and sometimes that overrides the other people. It was nice to look up in the stands and see a little kid wearing your jersey."

Kane talked of watching Michael Vick's news conference in Philadelphia over the weekend and relating to the NFL star who spent two years in prison on a dog-fighting conviction.

"I was watching ESPN the other day, watching Michael Vick give his speech," Kane said. "After that you hear people saying, 'He's not really sorry,' but going through something, obviously not as bad as that, but something similar, you can tell he was sorry. You really realize how privileged we are at times like this."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Video</h2> <ul class="video"> <li><a href="http://video.ap.org/?f=ILARL&pid=xDAot9IRlepiWTiFbdYTmOY3ytHSHAUj">Kane's apology </a></li> </ul> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=314370">Kane's arrest won't affect Team USA bid, official says<span class="date">[8/17/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=314366">Team USA GM Burke: This is not an Olympic tryout camp <span class="date">[8/17/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=312662">Blackhawks' Kane charged with assaulting, robbing taxi driver <span class="date">[08/09/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=312873">Decisions on Kane not complicated for Hawks <span class="date">[08/10/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=312721">Cabbie's lawyer: Kane's late-night incident 'blown out of proportion' <span class="date">[08/10/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=312706">Whatever happened in Buffalo, it's not good <span class="date">[08/10/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=312875">Will Kane answer wake-up call? <span class="date">[08/10/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=313038">Hawks' president waiting for more details to unfold on Kane's arrest <span class="date">[08/11/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=313634">Grand jury hears case against Hawks' Kane <span class="date">[08/13/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>