Evander Kane Appears in Buffalo Court, Pleads Not Guilty

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Evander Kane appeared in Buffalo City Court on Monday and entered a plea of not guilty to charges he faces based upon an alleged incident that occurred at a bar in Buffalo on June 24.

Kane previously turned himself in to the Buffalo Police Department on July 22. He faces one count of misdemeanor criminal trespass, four counts of non-criminal harassment and one count of non-criminal disorderly conduct.

The alleged incident occurred at the Bottoms Up Bar in downtown Buffalo and it was reported that Kane engaged in “physical conduct” with the alleged victims. Kane’s attorney, Paul Cambria, said that reports that there is video that show Kane grabbing a woman by the throat are false. Cambria also added that he possesses a copy of the video and will not be releasing it. 

Shortly after Kane’s arraignment, Acting District Attorney Michael J. Flaherty, Jr. spoke to the media briefly to address Kane’s charges.

Despite these charges being relatively minor, Sabres’ management may view them as slightly more serious based upon Kane’s off-ice issues in the recent past.

Shortly after news of this alleged incident broke, Sabres’ general manager Tim Murray voiced his concern about the star forward. “Whether he has done these things or not, or he is guilty of these things or not, it’s not something I like getting up in the morning and reading about, that’s for sure,” Murray said.

In February, Kane was suspended one game by the Sabres after he overslept and missed a practice. Kane had posted pictures to his Instagram account of him celebrating after the NBA All-Star Game in nearby Toronto, the night before. These pictures were later deleted from Kane’s account and he issued an apology.

In March, prosecutors announced that they would not be filing a sexual assault charge against Kane after an alleged incident that occurred in December, because there was no evidence to support the allegation.

Kane is set to return to court on Sept. 9.