Allegations against Artemi Panarin are even being questioned by media in his home country

While the allegations against Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers are quite serious, it seems even Russian media is having trouble believing the details. It was announced Monday that Panarin is taking a leave of absence from the Rangers after a story surfaced in Russia alleging Panarin beat up an 18-year-old woman at a bar in Latvia in 2011 while playing in the KHL. The allegations were made by his former coach, Andrei Nazarov, who has a reputation for not being truthful and making outlandish statements to media.

As Russian media attempts to sort through the allegations, the very popular Sport-express.ru took a dive into the accusations and even they admitted something seems off.

"His popularity, positive character and star status, of course, do not guarantee that Panarin did not make mistakes. It is obvious," wrote reporter Ivan Shitik. "But this whole story looks very dubious. And, to be honest, it exudes a very unpleasant smell."

It is somewhat surprising that even media in Panarin's home country, which is still firmly in the grip of dictator Vladimir Putin, would outright downplay these allegations. Shitik wrote that Nazarov has a reputation for being outrageous. He once threatened to jail T.J. Galiardi if he ever returned to Russia after Galiardi went on the Spittin' Chiclets podcast and spoke negatively about his experience playing in the KHL and for Nazarov, who was his coach at the time.

FOrmer Russian hockey reporter Igor Eronko, who now serves as assistant GM with Avangard Omsk of the KHL, noted that Panarin's former teammates with Vityaz deny any such incident with an 18-year-old woman ever took place.

We are in a time where accusers are usually given the benefit of the doubt in the court of public opinion. However, it's worth noting that no victim has ever come forward in this case. At least not yet. The only person making accusations in this situation is Nazarov, who has a questionable record and is a huge supporter of Putin. Panarin has spoken out against Putin several times in interviews and recently expressed his support for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Related articles:

NEW YORK RANGERS RELEASE STATEMENT REGARDING PANARIN ALLEGATIONS

NHL, TEAMMATE COMMENTS ON PANARIN SITUATION; REPORTER CHECKS ON DETAILS OF ALLEGATIONS WITH LOCALS

PANARIN'S FORMER KHL TEAMMATES COME TO HIS DEFENCE

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