Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers' shaggy, orange mascot with an unsettlingly wide-eyed gaze, has been cleared of the alleged November assault of a 13-year-old boy, ESPN reports.
"[The] investigation, which has been completed and is no longer active, determined that the actions of the individual portraying the Flyers' mascot did not constitute physical assault as alleged," the Philadelphia Police Department said in a statement. In a statement of their own, the Flyers said the department's findings "[confirm] our thorough internal investigation that found no evidence of the described actions ever having taken place."
The alleged incident was said to have occurred at a meet-and-greet at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center, where the son of Flyers season ticket holder Chris Greenwell told his father that Gritty "took a running start" and punched him "as hard as he could," The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. But there was no evidence or video to support the claim, and Gritty — whose real identity has not been revealed — is, perhaps terrifyingly, once again free to threaten opposing mascots, pummel referees, and throw sheet cakes at New York Rangers fans.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.