The fan was then moved to a new seat along the glass.
No decision has been made as to how long Rypien will be out of the lineup for the Canucks, as the league will have a hearing to determine the final punishment.
Following the game, Rypien's teammate, Manny Malhotra, said the following:
"There's boundaries that should never be crossed. We're in our area of work. We're all for the hooting and hollering and supporting your team and saying whatever is tasteful. But as soon as you cross that line and want to become physical with a player then we have to make sure we take care of ourselves. ... We have no idea of what their intentions are."
The only problem, of course, is there's no evidence that the fan became physical, or did anything to provoke Rypien's actions.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Do you really think this guy would risk his career over a fan clapping. Sounds to me like a fan did something totally stupid and paid the price.
Did you watch the clip??? Duh?? The fan did nothing but clap and say something! Player is a punk!Should be fined big time or banned!
Are you blind and stupid or just blind?
did you watch?! he did nothing Rypien just grabbedhim. He should be arrested for assault.
I watched the replay several times and it looked to me like the only thing the fan did was clap and Rypien went after him. Maybe the fan said something like "he could kick Rypien's rear" but that's still no excuse for going after the fan. A suspension is the correct call on this one.
if this was basketball and he was black, this story would be filled with racist comments about how blacks are animals and thugs. but naturally, since this is a white sport and the guy was white, the first person to comment justifies what he did.
the low amount of comments for a story like this is typical also. racists stay away when the story doesnt support their racist views about blacks.
@kpingzing, im not disagreeing with you but, im sure he was mad as hell when he got told to leave the rink area after the fight. maybe he just let the fan get the best of him. dont get me wrong im sure the fan didnt have kind words of encouragment for him and was provoking him but i wouldnt say it to his face, not that close.
Another punk who needs anger management. I watched the video, and heard the explanations on ESPN. The fan may have said something, but clearly did nothing more than clap. Why wasn't the fan allowed to press charges?
ever since one of the canucks ended one of our avs players career ON PURPOSE a few years ago and only got a slap on the hand, i have hated the canucks. now they are hitting adult fans? hey canucks what's next, going to start beating up on little kids? wouldn't surprise me cos all of you are just walking brain stems. i say ban this jerk forever before he decides to use a kid for a hokey puck
Slam dunk lawsuit
Rypien was completely out of line. The clip clearly shows the two fans standing there did nothing to incite him into a physical altercation. He was kinda shoving at the ref just before he attacked the fan. There is nothing the NHL can do to stop the guy from pressing charges and suing, but the NHL can stop Rypien from doing this again by sending him back home. It is disappointing that Malhotra would even defend this animal. Someone give that Rypien a rabies shot and put him on a bus back to Coleman, Alberta.
Of course Manny Malhotra will defend these actions - Manny is the same type of classless, low talent fringe player who would instigate this type of incident.
"There's boundaries that should never be crossed. We're in our area of work. We're all for the hooting and hollering and supporting your team and saying whatever is tasteful. But as soon as you cross that line and want to become physical with a player then we have to make sure we take care of ourselves. ... We have no idea of what their intentions are."
Note to Manny...there is a VIDEO of the incident! Dumb*ss...
Hockey really needs to get the fighting under control. They let them do it on the ice, brawling with fans is just an easy next step. Other countries hockey leagues don't tolerate any fighting, why can't we do that?