Known to be deliberate in high-profile cases such as this one, the Erie County District Attorney’s Office postponed the proceedings Tuesday but didn’t explain why.
Kane is accused of raping a woman at his home in New York last month.
“Nobody is going to talk to us”, Bettman told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The alleged victim and the friend who was with her at Kane’s home on August 2 were supposed to testify that afternoon, the Tribune reported.
Kane’s attorney, Paul Cambria, told the Chicago Tribune on Thursday that he did not know why prosecutors canceled the grand jury presentation, but that the move did not come at his request.
The grand jury, which comprises 23 people, is to review all evidence in the case and vote on whether there is enough evidence to charge Kane. “Whenever you’re being investigated, you are targeted on that from regulation enforcement, and you are not going to be coping with third events”. But we’ll see where it’s going to take him.
It is not clear whether Kane will be at Blackhawks training camp when it starts on September 18.
“I’m not commenting concerning the Kane matter”, Sedita informed the AP final week. “Having said that, it’s hard to imagine how any sport’s team’s training camp schedule would ever have any effect upon a prosecutor’s decision-making process”.
Pat Brisson, Kane’s agent, stated Wednesday he believes Kane is harmless of any crime.
“That’s giving them a pretty long time to find out where they are from an investigative standpoint”, he said of the monthlong probe. I’ve been doing this a long time as a sports agent.
The 26-year-old Kane is from Buffalo and was selected by Chicago with the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft. He has since helped the Blackhawks win three Stanley Cup titles in six years, including this past June, when Chicago defeated Tampa Bay in a six-game series. He is additionally a two-time Olympian.
Bettman told reporters the situation is “unfortunate”, adding it is not reflective of how a vast majority of players in the league conduct themselves off the ice.
“Our entry to info, whereas authorized procedures are ongoing, is considerably restricted”, Bettman stated in a convention room on the NHL’s workplace in Toronto.