The NHL said on Tuesday that after an investigation it determined that Toronto Maple Leafs' player Morgan Rielly did not use an anti-gay slur at referee Brad Meier during a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night.
ESPN reports: ‘The league conducted an investigation after microphones picked up a phrase during a game at Toronto against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Online videos appeared to implicate Rielly, but the NHL said he didn't utter a slur. “League officials interviewed several of the participants in the game — including Rielly and Meier — and reviewed audio of the alleged incident,” NHL senior executive vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell said in a statement. “All of those interviewed adamantly denied that Rielly uttered a slur and the audio supported their statements.'
Rielly and Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas addressed the media after the NHL made its determination.
Said Rielly: “There's really no place for slurs like that in sport or in life…That word has no place in this building.”
