Electronic Arts (EA) Sports has dropped Chicago Blackhawks hockey player Patrick Kane as spokesperson for "Madden NHL 16" and removed the athlete from the game's cover following sexual assault allegations against the hockey player.
Kane was set to appear on the cover alongside fellow team member Jonathan Toews, the Orlando Sentinel reported. However, a statement released by EA Sports Wednesday, August 13, through its Twitter account has changed that. The EA Sports statement not only indicated Kane's removal from the cover, the hockey player will no longer participate in the game's promotional events.
The statement read: "In light of the ongoing investigation involving Patrick Kane, he will no longer be the spokesperson for the launch of EA Sports NHL 16. He will not appear on the EA Sports NHL 16 cover nor participate in other EA Sports NHL 16 promotional activities."
The Chicago Blackhawks player is under police investigation after a woman accused Kane of sexually assaulting her, USA Today reported. No charges have been filed in the investigation. However, Kane's legal representative, Paul J. Cambria, mentioned that most of what has been reported is inaccurate. The lawyer declined to provide further details.
Meanwhile, the initial Kane and Toews "Madden NHL 16" cover concept would have been the first time that EA Sports placed teammates together on the game's front cover, Bloomberg stated. Given recent events, the game's new cover will reportedly feature Toews alone with the Stanley Cup.
In other news, gamers hoping to try out a trial version of "Madden NHL 16" will be disappointed since the company already announced that it will not release a standard demo for the game, unlike "Madden NFL 16." According to Polygon, EA Canada made the announcement end July, however the company did offer NHL 15 owners and players with EA Access subscription, a beta version demo which ran from July 30 to August 6.
Gamers hoping to play "Madden NHL 16" will have to wait until the game's release, which is scheduled on September 15 in North America and September 17 in Europe. "NHL 16" will be available for PS4 and Xbox One.
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