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Artemi Panarin #10 of the New York Rangers looks on from the bench prior to NHL action against the Winnipeg Jets
New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin and the team's parent company, Madison Square Garden Sports, settled claims from a former employee who alleged she was sexually assaulted by the NHL star, according to a new report from The Athletic, citing an NHL source.
The outlet said on Thursday, April 17 that the alleged assault occurred in December 2023 while the team was on a road trip and was settled sometime in 2024. The unidentified employee reportedly left the Rangers organization in August 2024 after reaching an agreement with Madison Square Garden (MSG) Sports.
The alleged assault reportedly happened after a post-game gathering in the team hotel that was attended by around 12 players and Rangers employees, according to The Athletic. Panarin allegedly took the victim's phone during the gathering and refused to return it to her unless she came to his hotel room, per the outlet.
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Artemi Panarin #10 of the New York Rangers skates with the puck during the third period against the Anaheim Ducks
Sources told The Athletic that Panarin "pinned her down on the bed" when she came to his room to retrieve her phone. The woman then allegedly "pushed" Panarin off her and left the room.
The former employee reportedly did not report the incident to police and informed the Rangers organization of the assault roughly three months after it happened as "part of an investigation into a separate incident," The Athletic said, after she felt she was being "treated unfairly" in her role.
The Rangers organization later discovered that the woman had allegedly shared her anti-anxiety medication with a player and she was placed on paid leave as the investigation continued, the outlet writes.
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Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers
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Amid her leave, MSG Sports reportedly held a virtual meeting where staff and a human resources representative told employees not to discuss the incident or the employee, sources told The Athletic.
But, "It's not a secret at all anytime someone vanishes," an anonymous employee told The Athletic of the woman's abrupt exit.
The settlements were reached in August, the outlet said, and both the Rangers and the NHL declined to confirm whether or not Panarin had faced any penalization after the allegation.
As part of the agreements with MSG Sports and the athlete, the former employee signed a non-disclosure clause and one stating there was no admission of wrongdoing, per The Athletic. The outlet reportedly spoke to several employees of the Rangers who asked to remain anonymous.
PEOPLE has contacted representatives for Panarin and the Rangers for comment.
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David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers
In a statement to The Athletic, the woman who accused Panarin said, "The matter has been resolved." A representative for MSG Sports reportedly said the same thing, that, "the matter has been resolved," in a separate statement to the outlet.
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The NHL issued a comment to The Athletic regarding the matter as well, saying, "The Club retained an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation, which the League was fully apprised of. We consider the matter closed.”
Panarin was named team MVP for the current season by members of Rangers media on Wednesday, April 16, the team announced on social media.
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