Jets fan allegedly assaulted for wearing jersey in Montreal
After watching his team get swept by the Canadiens in Montreal, 23-year-old Winnipeg Jets fan Alex Wojakowski was allegedly assaulted while walking home.
Around 11:30 p.m. on Monday night, at the intersection of St. Catherine and St. Hubert, Wojakowski was approached by a group of men. Despite his efforts to avoid them, they continued to verbally harass him, allegedly telling him to give them his jersey for them to burn it.
“Then they rushed me and three of them punched me on the side of the head. One of them pushed me and he scratched me across the face,” he told CTV News.
"And then I tried to run to get away, and then one of them grabbed my jersey from the back, and he was trying to rip it off me and they were just really adamant on getting my jersey. So I just said okay, here, take my jersey."
Montreal police reportedly received a 911 call that night describing the assault, and have obtained surveillance footage of the event to review, according to spokesperson Caroline Chèvrefils.
Wojakowski experienced more playful banter before the game, as a LaPresse photographer coincidently caught him being surrounded by Canadiens fans armed with brooms in anticipation of a sweep.
While the pre-game emotions were joyful, videos uploaded to social media of the post-game frenzy told a different, more rowdy story. Fireworks, crowds chanting donned in the Blue, Blanc et Rouge, and lifting traffic cones as if they were Stanley Cups — downtown Montreal was an emotional scene. Unfortunately for Wojakowski, that jubilation turned sour once those fans targeted him.
For the 23-year-old fan, attending another game in an away arena doesn’t seem like a possibility.
“The thought of going to a game now makes me feel like I can’t cheer for the team I want to cheer for or after the game I have to take off my jersey so I don’t get attacked,” Wojakowski said.
“I think it's really disgusting ... Now that we’re finally getting the privilege to open up and finally attend hockey games and that’s the way Montreal Canadiens fans act against visiting teams fans, that’s disgusting.”
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