Gritty is not guilty of assault

Flyers fans rejoice, Gritty’s name has been cleared.

Gritty will not be charged with physically assaulting a teen.

Metro reported that in 2019, Chris Greenwell and his 13-year-old son got to meet Gritty and got to grab a photo with him. The VIP event is only available for Flyer’s season ticket holders.

Greenwell told ABC that his son tapped the mascot’s head after the photo, which prompted Gritty to punch back and lunge out of his chair.

The Flyers, as well as the police, investigated the incident.

Inquirer.com reported that the team did not find any evidence to support the claim. Emails between the Comcast Spectator (the parent company of the team) and Greenwell, said there is no video evidence of the incident because all the cameras nearby “are focused on other locations.”

The investigation was performed by the South Detective Division, and it was determined that Gritty did not commit the alleged assault.

The Flyers released a statement to Inquirer.com, which said, “We are pleased that the Philadelphia Police Department concluded there was no merit to the alleged claim. The police department’s statement confirms our thorough internal investigation that found no evidence of the described actions ever having taken place.”

Police released a statement to Inquirer.com said, “That investigation, which has been completed and is no longer active, determined that the actions of the individual portraying the Flyers’ mascot did not constitute physical assault as alleged.”

Inquirer.com reports that police would not identify the person behind the Gritty costume.

When news of the incident first broke, the internet went wild. There were memes and a ton of hashtags, which included #FreeGritty, which trended for hours.

As news of Gritty’s innocence broke, Twitter users celebrated by using the #FreeGritty once more. Fans expressed their joy by tweeting “GRITTY IS FREE! #freegritty”