Patrick Kane-Adam Burish Halloween Photo Stirs Controversy

by Jon Azpiri | November 4, 2009 at 11:48 am

655 views | 0 Recommendations | add comment

Here we go again. First, a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Whitney Isleib received criticism for dressing as Lil Wayne for Halloween. Now Chicago Blackhawks forwards Patrick Kane and Adam Burish are getting some heat for dressing up as former Chicago Bulls greats Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen.

Both Adam Burish and Patrick Kane were wearing dark makeup as well as Bulls uniforms. Some fans are wondering if using something akin to blackface is a good idea for high-profile athletes.

Here is the Patrick Kane-Adam Burish Halloween photo.

One Chicago journalist took offense to the photo.

It's not a good look, You've got a lot of people and kids looking up to you, and I refuse to believe that a #1 overall pick in one of the "Big 4" leagues with the media relations department of that caliber at your disposal is silly enough to believe that no one would have a problem with you doing some "extreme tanning".

Another journalist the Burish-Kane incident to recent controversies involving Bob Griese's comment about NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya and NBA player Drew Gooden being accused of hurling a homophobic slur at a fan.

But the controversies are also a sign of society's robust health. We debate these words and behaviors -- are they heinous and unforgivable or just dumb and obtuse? -- because we don't really know just how to feel about them. And sports is both mirror and lamp. The mirror shows us where we are; the lamp leads us up and out.

Were many people really, deep down, offended by the Blackhawks' blackface, Griese's silly slip, Gooden's alleged insult or Johnson's reported slur? Doubt it. But we still have to argue about it. These incidents give us a chance to talk about things that are sometimes hard to talk about: race, ethnicity, sexuality.

Meanwhile, Greg Wyshinki of Yahoo says that the whole Patrick Kane-Adam Burish Halloween photo thing is much ado about nothing.

Actually, it's easy to talk about in this case: Burish and Kane have nothing to be sorry about, nothing to regret and nothing to be ashamed of. If the Blackhawks issue an apology under the weight of media scrutiny for something that didn't occur anywhere near the rink, it would, in our estimation, be more detrimental to the conversation about race in this country than anything Burish or Kane did to their faces

We can debate all day whether the Patrick Kane-Adam Burish Halloween costumes are appropriate, but the one thing that is crystal clear is that they are kind of weak. Just buying a couple of basketball jerseys on eBay and putting on some bad (and offensive?) makeup and a wig. Not really that creative. It's the kind of thing that drunk frat boys put together at the last minute after getting a last-minute invite to a Halloween party.

For our money, Burish had the right idea when he and teammate Jonathan Toews dressed up as Dumb and Dumber at a Blackhawks game this weekend. Now that's a Halloween costume.

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon