An altercation occurred during a recent Tampa Bay Lightning vs Florida Panthers ice hockey match. A fan seemingly assaulted a mascot during the NHL match and is now being investigated.
Florida Panthers faced Tampa Bay Lightning on February 7 at the FLA Live Arena. The game was a stomp. Florida Panthers absolutely dominated the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 7-1 score. In the final minute of the match, Tampa Bay Lightning fan decided to take matters into his own hands.
He picked on Viktor E Ratt, a Florida Panthers’ mascot and the clip went viral on social media. In an aisle of the audience seats, a man with a blue t-shirt can be seen bullying the mascot.
He pulls the mascot’s head and swings it around. Not just that, the guy also choked him around and shoved him left and right. The unknown man also raised his fist in the air, which was cheered by fellow Tampa Bay Lightning fans around them.
Fans on Twitter jumped in to give their opinion. Some believe it’s a serious assault and should be taken seriously.
“So where was [FLA Live Arena] security?? Reason number 5 billion why Tampa fans are a circus show.” One fan wrote. A criminologist also added, “That’s a legit assault. Why is no one doing anything?”
Meanwhile, some others think it was staged due to the security not responding at all, which is pretty rare in the FLA Live Arena.
“Definitely staged. The fact that there’s a guy with a headset with Victor says so. The folks with headsets are for the video crew. The police would’ve been there if it was real.” One fan wrote and another said, “That looks staged.”
It was said that the incident happened after the mascot took that fan’s jersey and threw it off to the crowd. But, nothing can be confirmed as of yet.
Andy Slater from Fox Sports South said that the Florida Panthers is currently doing an investigation. Slater also said that it wasn’t staged but they haven’t contacted the authorities yet.
Ezra Samuel is a passionate freelance writer with a particular love for covering MMA news. His interest in the sport dates back to his college days, and he has since established himself as a respected voice in the MMA community. Over the years, Ezra has contributed his writing to a variety of digital outlets, including the popular site calfkicker.