It has been released in the news that the rape allegations against the 26-year-old Blackhawks star aren't going anywhere, and he will most likely not face any charges. The second this case broke out in August, it caught my attention. I have been a Blackhawks fan my whole life, and a Patrick Kane fan since I was a teenager. When I was in high school, every girl had a crush on Patrick Kane. I was more of a Jonathan Toews fan, but Chicago’s bad boy had a spot in my heart, and still does.

When the news broke about the case, I was very confused. I knew Kane had a rather douchey reputation, and for some weird reason, it is a part of his charm. He isn’t boyfriend or husband material, and we all know it. Despite his reputation, I had a very hard time believing he was capable of such a horrific and violent act. Drunkenly beating up a cab driver at 20 is awful, but it is nowhere near as horrible as rape. Rape is not an act of lust or passion, it is an act of violence and force. Anyone who commits such a horrible act deserves everything about to come at them.

Rape and sexual assault are big issues in today’s society, and, for personal reasons, issues I hold near and dear to my heart. It’s a horrible and awful crime that is often overlooked; most rapists don’t spend a day in jail, which, if you ask me, is rather disgusting. If found guilty of rape and convicted, rapists face up to life in prison, so it is safe to say that rape is up there with murder when it comes to the worst crimes someone can possibly commit.

We will never truly know what happened the night Kane was accused of rape, as the details are rather sketchy. At times, in the case, I have believed that he was guilty and should be put behind bars, and in other instances, I believed he was totally innocent. Even though we will never know what truly happened, due to the events that have occurred since the accusation has been filed, I do not believe that he is guilty.

I am not 100 percent sure, I will never be 100 percent sure, but it is the conclusion I have come to. I believe that if he was guilty, he would have paid a settlement to avoid risking his career instead of pleading innocent and possibly risking his career. I believe that he wouldn’t have appeared to look stressed, tired, and ten years older than he really was at his first press conference since the allegations if he was guilty. I believe that his girlfriend, Amanda Gravhovec, wouldn’t be sticking by him to this day if he was guilty. NHL star and millionaire or not, if my boyfriend raped someone, he would be done with. Although rape kit DNA tests do not 100 percent prove innocence if the tests come back negative, like Kane’s did, the mother of the victim making a fake rape kit and saying the “real tampered rape kit” was delivered to her doorstep to claim that the results of the test were inaccurate, and have the lawyer of the case come forward to say it was a hoax and drop out of the case, is the most telling mistake of all.

Even with this evidence, I cannot say that I am totally sure that he is innocent and that this case is an attempt to gain money. There are still words that need to be said if that is true: This is why rape victims are not always taken seriously and why victim blaming exists, because in the rare occasion that a false accusation was made, it seems to be the one to get the most attention, contributing to the false belief that most rape accusations are made up. Most rape accusations are indeed true, and many aren’t always taken seriously. It is debated that professional athletes as well as men who are rich, famous, or both, tend to get away with crimes, and it is true in some cases, but this isn’t the first time something like this has happened to a professional athlete, and most likely, it's not the last time.

But what happens when someone truly is raped by a professional athlete? They will most likely not be taken seriously, and it is a disgusting shame. Even the average college girl who accuses someone of rape gets victim blamed, suggesting that she doesn’t want to be thought of as a slut or is out for revenge, and that is one of the most disgusting things I have ever heard. This case is a giant slap in the face to rape and sexual assault victims. People suffer from these crimes, and making false accusations of rape and sexual assault is probably one of the most disgusting things out there in my book.

I must also mention that if this accusation is 100 percent false and no charges are pressed against Kane, his career is ruined. He is only 26 years old and is arguably the best American player in the NHL, but he has lost most of his endorsements, and all of the hard work he has done to build up his reputation is now seen as invalid. He is not going to escape this for the rest of his career, and possibly the rest of his life, because of a most likely false accusation. Last time I checked, that is beyond unethical.

If I am wrong, then I will retract all statements made above, and believe that Kane, as well as every other perpetrator of a crime like this, should face every consequence, regardless of money or fame. If I am right, I will stand by everything I have said in this article, for falsely accusing someone of a crime of this magnitude, or any crime at all, is disgusting.