Auston Matthews spoke to the media for approximately 40 seconds on Wednesday after revelations were made public that he was charged with disorderly conduct in his hometown of Scottsdale, Arizona. The hockey star and a group of friends tried to force their way into a female security guard’s car around 2 AM on May 26. As he walked away, Matthews “dropped his pants, bent over, and grabbed his buttocks” towards the woman.
On Wednesday, a visibly uncomfortable Matthews said he had “regret” for how it impacted the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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Auston Matthews addressed the media about his disorderly conduct charges. He took no questions, only made a statement. pic.twitter.com/wfvSrSt6qV
— Yahoo Sports Canada (@YahooCASports) September 25, 2019
“Yeah so, thanks, guys, for coming. Obviously, not something that I don’t think any of us really wish we were talking about today,” Matthews said. “Unfortunately, it’s the situation we’re in, I regret any of my actions that would ever put a distraction on the team or distress any individual. I take a lot of pride in, you know, preparing myself for the season and representing the Toronto Maple Leafs as well as I can. Unfortunately, due to the situation, I’m afraid I can’t really make any other comments. That’s all I have and thank you for coming out.”
Head coach Mike Babcock addressed Matthews’ run-in with the law saying that he was “disappointed.” Auston did not share news of the disorderly conduct charge with members of the organization until they found out Tuesday.
“As the Toronto Maple Leafs, we really pride ourselves in treating people right, on the ice and off the ice. So it’s an unfortunate situation,” Babcock said. “Anything that goes bad, what you do is you take it, and you get better as an organization. It makes you better as an organization. We’ve got a close family inside. We’re going to look after Auston and we’re going to look after our actions.”
Mike Babcock doesn't think this will impact Auston's ability to be a leader on the team. pic.twitter.com/1nvowmaVnJ
— Yahoo Sports Canada (@YahooCASports) September 25, 2019
Matthews, 22, was the first overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft and is the cover boy for NHL 20.
Headline photo: @YahooCASports
