Patrick Kane reveals his participation in the Blackhawks' 2010 alleged sexual assault investigation

The 2010 sexual assault allegations and the relating lawsuits against the Chicago Blackhawks and then video coach Brad Aldrich continue to garner a ton of attention within the hockey community - and for good reason.

Since the start of the lawsuit and the investigations that surround it, many within the organization - including players - have come forward to either deny any knowledge or attempt to blow the whistle on the whole thing, claiming that they, along with everyone in the organization, knew all about the incident.

On Friday, another Blackhawks player who was on the time at the time of the alleged incident, Patrick Kane, acknowledged the severity of the allegations and stated that he had taken part in the investigation. Kane says you can count him among those who didn't know of the alleged incident.

«Obviously very serious allegations, and everyone knows that,» Kane said. «But I will say that I didn't know anything about it at the time and did participate with the investigation.»

Kane also elaborated, stating that he was completely unaware of the alleged bullying and the use of homophobic slurs that followed.

«Obviously disturbing,» Kane said. «You never want to hear that type of stuff. I feel for (someone making) those type of allegations. And hopefully it didn't affect the player too much. But I'm sure when you're hearing that type of stuff, obviously it could affect you deep down.»

Whether Kane actually did know of the incident and the subsequent bullying or not, we may never know. But as the investigation and the lawsuits continue, who knows what sort of details may arise. Even NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly is unsure of what to expect - though he has commended the Blackhawks organization for their cooperation and independent probing into the matter. He also stated that the NHL would likely have supported the Blackhawks if they chose not to reveal the details of their investigation to the public.

«We probably would have supported the decision if it was different, if it was made for the right reasons,» Daly said. «Since these allegations arose, I think the Blackhawks as an organization have handled everything in the right way and they've taken the proper steps. We'll see at the end of the day what comes of it.»

It does seem a bit odd though that one of the main alleged conspirators - Stan Bowman - continues to have charge over the team while under investigation for allegedly attempting to bury the incident.

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