Home / News / ‘It has no place’ in the game: Garnet Hathaway admits to spitting at Erik Gudbranson, regrets it

‘It has no place’ in the game: Garnet Hathaway admits to spitting at Erik Gudbranson, regrets it

By Ian Oland

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November 18, 2019 10:23 pm

Capitals forward Garnet Hathaway was ejected for spitting at Erik Gudbranson during the second period of the Capitals’ 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks. Hathaway was given a match penalty and will await word from the league on if he will receive a suspension or not.

Hathaway spoke to reporters after the game and chose his words carefully. He admitted to spitting on Gudbranson and pointd out that it was an emotional reaction after being sucker-punched by the Ducks’ defenseman. He also said that spitting “has no place” in the game.

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Here’s the full transcript of what Hathaway said.

What happened out there?

Garnet Hathaway: “Obviously first there was the fight. Then, how I saw it, they had a third man in and then a fourth man in too. The refs were trying to break it up and I felt like there were a couple sucker punches thrown and I got one there quick. I reacted a little emotionally and unfortunately spit came out of my mouth after I got sucker punched and it went onto him.”

Do you feel any regret for what happened?

Garnet Hathaway: “Yeah. It has no place (in the game). It was an emotional play by me and you don’t plan any of that stuff in your head. It was a quick reaction and unfortunately the wrong one for me after a sucker punch.”

What do you think of the penalty calls they made there?

Garnet Hathaway: “They talked about it. I don’t know what the ruling is there. They have a call and they can look back at again. So it’s nothing we can change now.”

Are you expecting discipline from the league?

Garnet Hathaway: “Time will tell with that. I’m not sure what the process is from here on out.”

Why did that game go off the rails like that?

Garnet Hathaway: “I think we carried play a lot. We scored a couple goals and then we just kept battling and making it difficult on their D. We got pucks down there and were physical. You look at Liper and how fast he was going tonight and created a lot of stuff tonight. I think it got pretty emotional from their side too. Then we add a third one on and it didn’t stop from there.”

Full RMNB Coverage of Caps vs Ducks

Headline photo: NBC Sports Washington

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