Free Gritty: Flyers mascot cleared of assault allegation
Philadelphia police announce investigation over after finding no evidence of charge
Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers' fuzzy, orange mascot, is innocent.
That's the determination made by Philadelphia police after an investigation into an allegation of assault levelled against the mascot and the unidentified person under the costume.
A police statement released Monday said the investigation found "the actions of the individual portraying the Flyers' mascot did not constitute physical assault as alleged." It added the investigation is no longer active.
The allegation was made in January by the father of a 13-year-old boy who claimed Gritty assaulted the boy during a photo shoot at the team's arena in November.
Chris Greenwell, the boy's father and a longtime season ticket holder, wrote in a Facebook post that his son was "punched and injured" by Gritty. Greenwell told the Inquirer that after the photo was taken, his son patted Gritty on the head and then walked away. The mascot got up, "took a running start," and "punched my son as hard as he could," Greenwell said, per the Inquirer.
Investigation into <a href="https://twitter.com/GrittyNHL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GrittyNHL</a> is over. <a href="https://twitter.com/PhillyPolice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PhillyPolice</a> say there was no assault <a href="https://twitter.com/KYWNewsradio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KYWNewsradio</a> <a href="https://t.co/1w0WhZ4Csw">pic.twitter.com/1w0WhZ4Csw</a>
—@KristenJohansonThe Flyers said they investigated the claim and found no evidence of an assault.
Gritty has become one of the NHL's most popular mascots since being introduced in September 2018. The NHL Players Association voted him as the league's best mascot in March 2019.