[SutterBrother]

From the Athletic

The alleged assault occurred in December 2023 during a Rangers road trip, according to two Rangers sources briefed about the allegation. Panarin and the woman, who was a regular part of the team’s travelling party, were at a post-game gathering at a hotel with about a dozen other players and staff members. Panarin allegedly took her phone and said he would only give it back if she retrieved it from his hotel room, the sources said. When she went to his hotel room to retrieve her device, Panarin pinned her down on the bed. She pushed him off, retrieved her phone and left the room.


There is no record of the woman reporting the incident to law enforcement. She also did not immediately alert the team. But about three months after the alleged sexual assault, she informed the team as part of an investigation into a separate incident. The team learned that the woman, whose anxiety around airplane travel was well known among team members, had shared her anti-anxiety medicine with a player who had the same issue. She was placed on paid leave pending the outcome of that investigation.

The female employee felt she was treated unfairly, according to team sources, and she then informed the team about the alleged assault.