NHL mascot Gritty being investigated by cops for ‘punching 13-year-old boy as hard as he could’ – The Sun
NHL mascot Gritty is being investigated by cops for "punching a 13-year-old boy as hard as he could".
The sickening blow is said to have happened during a meet-and-greet for season-ticket holders at the home of the Philadelphia Flyers, the Wells Fargo Center, in November.
The teenager's father, Chris Greenwell, claimed the orange creature "took a running start" as he struck his son while they posed for photos.
Greenwell recalled: "[My son] taps Gritty three times on the head… a light tap.
"After that, my son walks away. Gritty was about eight feet away from my son, got out of the chair and lunged at him and hit him in the back."
Greenwell went on to say he thought it was "horseplay", with Gritty having a reputation for it.
But it was only when he realised his son was in real pain that he started taking matters seriously.
The boy was left with spinal contusion – with police describing the case as an alleged "physical assault".
A police statement claimed an "investigation is active and ongoing".
But Greenwell said he would have been happy with having his son's medical bills paid and a sincere apology, but was forced turned to cops after failing to come to an agreement with Flyers owners.
All I asked for is I wanted my son's medical bills paid…an apology from the team and for them to do something special for him like a picture with players.
Greenwell continued: "From the beginning, all I asked for is I wanted my son's medical bills paid.
"I wanted an apology from the team and for them to do something special for him like a picture with players.
"I would've been happy with that but they tried to get me to accept complimentary tickets to make this go away."
Greenwell handed back his season-tickets after more than two decades of loyal support.
He went on to accuse the Philadelphia ice hockey team of bribery, adding: “This could have been handled so simply but they tried to bribe me not to speak about it.
“My inbox is already getting media requests.
"This article is 100 per cent factual of the incident and the Wells Fargo Center refused to let me see the video of it and the police had to get involved in it to get it.
"They tried to get me to drop it by offering tickets and all-I-can-drink passes at one of the bars there.”
"NO CCTV"
In a statement, the Flyers said they were taking "Mr Greenwell’s allegations seriously and conducted a thorough investigation that found nothing to support this claim”.
However, Greenwell suggested the NHL franchise were refusing to allow him to see security footage of the alleged attack.
Greenwell claimed: "They refuse to let me see the security videos of that night.
"[They] even said they have no working cameras there inside of the newly renovated, $250million [£190m] upgraded facility.
"There was clearly many cameras where it happened at but if the video gets out it will go viral and make the team have lots of negative PR."
The security company in charge of the arena's security claimed "cameras in that area of the centre are focused on other locations”.
The Flyers only hired a mascot at the start of the 2018 season, with fans quickly embracing Gritty.
Gritty's bio on the Flyers' website
HIS father was a "bully", so naturally he has some of those tendencies – talented but feisty, a fierce competitor, known for his agility given his size.
He's loyal but mischievous; the ultimate Flyers fan who loves the orange and black, but is unwelcoming to anyone who opposes his team.
Legend has it he earned the name "Gritty" for possessing an attitude so similar to the team he follows.
He claims that he's been around for a lot longer than we know it, and recent construction at the Wells Fargo Center disturbed his secret hideout forcing him to show his face publicly for the first time.
He has some oddities that are both humorous and strange.
A number of times he's been caught eating snow straight from the Zamboni machine, and unbeknown to most, his love of hot dogs has been inflating the Flyers Dollar Dog Night consumption totals for years.
That being said, there's no denying that he's one of our own.
In fact, it was one of the most in-demand costumes for Halloween in 2019 in the Philadephia area.
However, not everyone has taken to Gritty – whose bio on the team's website admits to "bully tendencies".
Some have described the mascot as a "nightmarish frat boy” and “horrifying bearded man-Muppet hybrid” – with some even comparing it something out of Pixar classic Monsters Inc.
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