Former NHL player Adam Johnson’s family is demanding that officials in the U.K. do something to bring justice to the man whose actions ended Johnson’s life during an Oct. 28 game.
The 29-year-old Johnson, who played with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2018 to 2020, was playing in a Challenge Cup game for the Nottingham Panthers against the Sheffield Steelers in the UK’s Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) when Steelers player Matt Petgrave raised his leg into the air and slammed Johnson in the neck with his deadly skate blade.
Johnson was rushed to a local hospital, but he lost too much blood and was pronounced dead.
Now, Johnson’s 62-year-old aunt is charging that Petgrave’s actions were negligent, and she wants the police in the U.K. to charge him in Johnson’s death.
“It was very reckless,” Kari Johnson said of the “horrific tragedy” of her nephew’s death, according to the New York Post. “I just want them [authorities investigating] to get it right. We are looking for justice for Adam.”
Johnson’s aunt added that Petgrave’s kick was “totally unnecessary.”
“We are absolutely calling for a complete investigation,” Johnson added. “You don’t take your leg and kick somebody and cut their throat. I’m sorry.”
JUST IN: Police are investigating the death of hockey player Adam Johnson after he got slashed in the neck by opposing team member Matt Petgrave's skate.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 30, 2023
Online social media users are split on whether the kick was intentional or an accident.
It is currently not completely clear… pic.twitter.com/7kJRFzPilr
She added that Pergrave’s kick was “not hockey” and insisted, “My nephew was 6 feet tall, and whether you lost your balance or not, to have that leg come up that high and do a kicking motion like he did, that is just unacceptable.”
“That’s not a hockey play, that’s not a check. I understand that every team has an enforcer, per se, on their team,” Johnson reiterated.
Still, Kari Johnson has carefully noted that she does not think Petgrave struck Johnson in the neck with his skate on purpose.
“I’m sure Mr. Petgrave probably didn’t even think about the consequences could be of that happening, but there comes a time when you have to realize that’s not hockey,” she said. “And I’m sure he’s going through a lot, too, but he took our boy. There are a few of us in the family that think it was a totally unnecessary, very, very bad action to take.”
She lamented her lack of control over the investigation. She said she would resign herself to what the British police determine but again added that Petgrave’s actions were “reckless and unnecessary” and said, “it took a life. I don’t want to see it for someone else.”
Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images
As for Petgrave, he is reportedly “distraught” and has been “receiving vile messages online.”
Meanwhile, South Yorkshire Police officials said they are investigating the incident.
“Our officers remain at the scene carrying out enquiries, and our investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident remain ongoing,” the department said in a statement.
Police did not say, though, if they were investigating the incident as a criminal act.
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