New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin is taking leave of the NHL team after allegations surfaced in Russia that he had beaten an 18-year-old girl in 2011.
Panarin is one of the few Russian athletes who has publicly criticized Vladimir Putin, and his team has suggested that assault charges are a tactic to punish the player.
“Artemi vehemently and unequivocally denies all allegations in this fabricated story,” Rangers said in a statement Monday. “This is clearly an intimidation tactic used against him to be open to recent political events.
“Artemi is obviously shaken and worried and will take some time away from the team. The rangers fully support Artemi and will work with him to identify the source of these baseless allegations. ”
Although Panarin lives in the United States, he still has family in Russia.
Panarin recently posted the message “Freedom for Navalny” on Instagram, referring to Alexei Navalny, the character of the Russian opposition who was imprisoned earlier this month in what many saw as a false trial.
Larry Brooks
(@NYP_Brooksie)The retaliation was feared after posting Panarin on Instagram on 1/21 in support of opposition leader Alexi Navalny with the caption “Freedom for Navalny”. Panarin, who has a family in Russia, has spoken out against Putin.
Panarin, like Navalny, is a longtime critic of the Russian president. “The mistake in our society is treatment [Putin] as a superman, “Panarin said in 2019.” He’s an ordinary person, just like us, and he serves us … Yes, to be president you have to be smart and enlightened, but our biggest mistake, among many “He thinks we have no one better than Vladimir Vladimirovich. This is nonsense. How many millions of people live here? No doubt there is someone better.”
In the same interview, Panarin said that many in Russia will consider him a “foreign agent” for his views and also attacked his country’s progress under Putin.
“American cities are growing because of the local taxes that remain in the state,” he said. “But here, a lot of money goes to Moscow, so people everywhere are working for the benefit of Moscow. I always thought it was unfair. “
Panarin’s position is in stark contrast to Russia’s biggest hockey star, Alex Ovechkin, who has a close relationship with Putin, even founding a movement, PutinTeam, to support the president.
Putin is a fan of hockey and has appeared in television exhibition games with businessmen, politicians and former NHL stars. During an appearance in a game in 2019, the 66-year-old scored at least eight goals against suspicious flexible opponents.