#FreeGritty trends as fans respond to claims that he punched teenage boy
PHILADELPHIA - In light of recent claims by a father that the Philadelphia Flyers’ mascot Gritty assaulted his son during a photo shoot, fans have begun to overwhelming share their support of the beloved mascot.
News broke Wednesday about the alleged claimed submitted by Chris Greenwell regarding the reported incident, which happened in November at the Wells Fargo Center.
Greenwell claims that Gritty launched at his son and punched him in the lower right side of his back during a special meet and greet for Flyers season ticket holders.
In response, a hashtag #FreeGritty began to trend with very vocal supporters defending one of Philadelphia’s favorite mascots.
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Some people remarked that they’ve “never wanted to be called in for jury duty more” in their lives.
Others went as far as declaring with certainty that Gritty “is innocent and a national treasure” before also adding that they “would sacrifice my life defending him.”’
On the other hand, there are others questioning whether or not Gritty hasn’t done questionable things in the past.
One Twitter user explained an experience with the bright orange mascot saying that he had been hugged by him for an “inordinately long amount of time.”
That same user then added that he hadn’t thought much of it at the time “but looking back, he got a little rough and a little too handsy. #FreeGritty?”
Among those still supporting Gritty, however; an audible group is questioning the legitimacy of these claims.
Still, while Gritty doesn’t have an official rap sheet some of his behavior has been questionable.
In the past, Gritty was caught on camera roughing up a referee during an NHL All Star game featuring the mascots. He apparently wasn’t too pleased about the call.
Even more, Gritty attacked a Santa suit-wearing goalie in late 2018.
He even threw cake in the face of a fan during a game, which went viral.
At this time, Gritty has not released a statement regarding the claims of the alleged assault.
The Flyers did release a statement Wednesday that read: “The Flyers said in a statement Wednesday, “We took Mr. Greenwell’s allegations seriously and conducted a thorough investigation that found nothing to support this claim."
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