“Two seconds later, he lunged toward my son from about eight to 10 feet away and punched him in the back,” Greenwell told the paper. ADADThe Flyers say they’ve found no evidence to support the claims, which became public on Wednesday and inspired fans to rush to the mascot’s defense as #FreeGritty began trending on Twitter. Greenwell told local media outlets that he took Brandon to be treated by a chiropractor a week after the incident. ADAs the Inquirer first reported, Greenwell filed a police report on Dec. 21, more than a month after the meet-and-greet. In Facebook groups with names like Gritty Memes for Philly Teens, Gritty Gritty Bang Bang and Flyers Nation, the overriding consensus was that Gritty was innocent and hadn’t punched the 13-year-old — and even if he had, there wasn’t anything wrong with that.

Source: Washington Post January 23, 2020 11:29 UTC