The Maple Leafs stated they are “aware of the complaint” and that Matthews is “cooperating fully with the relevant authorities.”
Auston Matthews.|Mark Blinch/Getty Images)
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews is facing a charge of disorderly conduct as the result of an off-season incident in Scottsdale, Ariz.
In a statement released by the Maple Leafs Tuesday evening, the team stated it was “aware of the complaint of disturbing the peace against forward Auston Matthews,” adding that Matthews is “cooperating fully with the relevant authorities but neither he nor the Club will comment any further out of respect for the process involved.”
According to a copy of the police report obtained by The Hockey News, the complaint against Matthews, who was not arrested, was filed following a May 26 incident in which the 22-year-old and a group of men allegedly attempted to enter the vehicle of a female security guard who was on duty and completing paperwork. The security guard told police the group of men appeared to be intoxicated.
Per the report, following the attempt to enter the vehicle, the security guard exited her vehicle and addressed Matthews and the group of men, asking why they had tried to enter her vehicle. The report states that Matthews told the security guard that the group “wanted to see what she would do” and “believed it would be funny to see how she would respond.” According to the report, the security guard told Matthews that she was a military veteran with severe PTSD and that it “wasn’t funny and how could they think it would be funny to try and get in a female’s vehicle at 2 a.m.”
The report states the security guard then told the group of men to leave, at which point a “friend” of Matthews’ “stepped in and tried to calm (her) down and also asked her not to tell management.” The report alleges that Matthews, who was walking away, pulled down his pants, bent over and “grabbed his butt cheeks.” The security guard told police that Matthews’ underwear remained on, according to the report.
Four days after the incident, an officer returned to the condos to review security footage which showed a male “walking toward the elevator” with “his pants down around his ankle.”
Matthews is slated for a pretrial conference Wednesday. According to CBC, he is not required to appear in court.
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