Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty has been cleared after being accused of assaulting a young fan at a meet-and-greet event in November.
The police investigation began after the orange mascot was accused of punching 13-year-old Brandon Greenwell after he patted Gritty on the head while they took a photo. Brandon’s father, Chris Greenwell, a season-ticket holder for more than two decades, alleged Gritty “took a running start” and “punched my son as hard as he could.”
Philadelphia police said on Monday the investigation into the incident had concluded, and they did not find enough evidence to move forward with charges.
“That investigation, which has been completed and is no longer active, determined that the actions of the individual portraying the Flyers’ mascot did not constitute physical assault as alleged,” police said in a statement to NBC Sports Philadelphia.
The father, who initially considered the incident to be “horseplay,” took his son to a chiropractor about a week after the incident, and his son was diagnosed with a “contusion to lower thoracic spine with subluxation,” and was suffering from mild pain.
Greenwell originally went to the team with his complaint and sought a remedy with them but went to the police after he and the team could not come to an agreement.
“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,” the dad said. “I would’ve been happy with that but they tried to get me to accept complimentary tickets to make this go away.”
Gritty debuted as the Flyers mascot in September 2018.
