The allegations, which are being widely questioned and discredited given the original source, state that Panarin assaulted the woman in a Latvia bar and paid 40,000€ (about $48,651) to keep the situation covered up.
The event is said to have happened after Panarin’s team lost a game. A supposedly frustrated Panarin is alleged to have beaten the woman and hurried off to his hotel room.
The Rangers issued a statement in support of Panarin on Monday:
The Rangers’ statement in its totality:
The source of the story, Andrei Nazarov, is a former head coach of Panarin’s in the KHL and is a noted and staunch supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Panarin has been an outspoken critic of Putin throughout his NHL career, going so far as to recently post a picture of Russian opposition leader Alexi Navalny with the caption “Freedom” in Russian.
The timing of the story is considered questionable by some, considering Panarin’s recent support of Navalny.
In the story, Nazarov also says that Panarin would also steal from teammates and brag about it.
Panarin has family members that remain in Russia.
