The Philadelphia Flyers’ mascot Gritty is being investigated for an alleged assault involving a 13-year-old boy, police said.
The incident happened during a November photoshoot with fans and the 7-foot furry orange creature at the Wells Fargo Center.
According to the boy’s father, Chris Greenwell, the Flyers invited him and his son to meet Gritty as a way to thank them for being season ticket holders, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. But what was supposed to be a fun evening with the hockey team’s mascot quickly turned sour.
Greenwell told the outlet that after the photo was snapped, his son playfully patted Gritty on the head. The mascot hopped out of his chair, “took a running start” and punched the teenage boy in the back, Greenwell alleged.
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In an email to officials at Comcast Spectacor, which owns the Flyers, Greenwell called Gritty’s actions “unprofessional and unacceptable,” according to the Inquirer.
Comcast Spectacor and NBCUniversal, which owns NBC News, are both subsidiaries of Comcast.
“I know it was not correct for my son to harmlessly tap him on his head but for a Flyers employee to get (sic) throw a full punch at someone with his back turned and hurt a 13 year old boy is assault, unprofessional and unacceptable for your organization,” the email stated. NBC News has not verified the emails.
Greenwell also took issue with how the photo turned out, telling officials that the mascot was not looking at the camera during the picture.
The Flyers said in a statement on Wednesday, “We took Mr. Greenwell’s allegations seriously and conducted a thorough investigation that found nothing to support this claim.”
Greenwell said he took his son to a chiropractor after the incident and was told that the teen had a back bruise and suffered mild pain, according to the Inquirer. He also contacted officials at Comcast Spectacor about how the situation could be resolved.
When an agreement could not be reached, Greenwell contacted the police.
A spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department said the investigation into the incident “is active and ongoing.”
