New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin is saying goodbye to the team following an article in Russia with political motives, in which his former Vityaz coach alleges that the former club striker in the region of Moscow beat an 18-year-old girl in Riga, Latvia in 2011, Larry Brooks of The Post reported Monday morning.
Andrei Nazarov, who is currently the head coach of KHL’s Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, has repeatedly criticized Panarin for the striker’s sincere beliefs about the regime of Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Nazarov is a well-known supporter of Putin.
“Artemi vehemently and unequivocally denies all allegations of this fabricated story,” the Rangers said in a statement. “This is clearly an intimidation tactic used against him to be frank in recent political events. Obviously, Artemi is moved and worried and will walk away from the team. The Rangers give full support to Artemi and will work with him to identify the source of these unfounded allegations.
In the ALhockey.ru article published on Monday and translated by The Post, Nazarov published a detailed account of December 11, 2011. The former Russian hockey player alleges that after Vityaz he lost to Dynamo 2 -0, in which Panarin did not play a fantastic match, a 19-year-old Panarin and other teammates were outside a hotel bar when “he sent the 18-year-old Latvian citizen to the ground with several powerful blows ”.
Nazarov claims Panarin was arrested by police before there was a criminal case and a trial. But Nazarov alleges there was a 40,000-euro cash bribe to leave Panarin off the hook.
Panarin’s grandparents still reside in Russia, as do some other family members.
Russian native Korkino, 29, has openly and firmly opposed Putin in recent years. Last month, Panarin showed his support for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in an Instagram post ahead of planned protests in Russia.
Panarin posted a photo of Navalny, a well-known critic of Putin, and his wife and two children, with a headline that translated into: “Freedom for Navalny.” Posting continues on their page starting Monday.
Navalny had recently posted a message on his YouTube account to his followers: “Don’t be afraid. Take to the streets. Don’t do it for me, do it for yourself and for your future. “
In July 2019, Panarin sat down for an interview with YouTube channel Vsemu Golovin and eviscerated Putin. It was a bombshell interview in which the 2020 Hart Trophy finalist, barefoot in his St. Petersburg salon, criticized the entire Putin regime.
Panarin discussed Russian politics, economics, freedom of speech, and made several unflattering comparisons of his homeland with the United States. He was also asked why he used to be a supporter of Putin in the past.
“Because I was never really interested in politics. Never read the news, “says a translation of SlavaDoesAmerica.com.” I was deeply focused on hockey and my progress … Besides, it’s not like I believed in [American] border and lit up immediately.
“It took me something like two years before I thought,‘ Something’s wrong [in Russia]. “I started to feel, over time, that by the end of the summer I was starting to want to come back [to America]”.
Panarin’s public opposition to Putin is extremely remarkable, as it is an unprecedented fact in Russia. Athletes in North America, such as LeBron James, Megan Rapinoe and countless others, have held political talks for years. Russian athletes are expected to show nothing but loyalty to their country, making Panarin’s stance even more destructive.
By comparison, NHL star teammate Alex Ovechkin had founded an entire political movement called the “Putin team” and sold Putin-themed merchandise before the 2018 presidential election. Other Russian-born players, such as Evgeni Malkin, Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Kovalchuk have expressed support for Putin himself or his policy.
Nikita Zadorov of the avalanche has slightly shown her support for Panarin, after commenting on Panarin’s Instagram account with “thumbs up” and “fist” emojis. Panarin and Zadorov had previously criticized a Russian law that sought to give the government greater control over the Internet, prompting the Russian embassy in the United States to issue an open letter to the two NHLs.