A USL Championship investigation into an alleged racial incident during the Hartford Athletic‘s soccer game against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC last Saturday night in Hartford has found that the allegations were “unsubstantiated.”
In stoppage time of a 2-1 Pittsburgh win, the Athletic alleged that Riverhounds player Danny Griffin, who grew up in Wethersfield and attended Wethersfield High, uttered a racial slur in the direction of Hartford player Marlon Hairston after a scuffle. After a lengthy discussion, Hartford decided to pull its team off the field and end the game early.
Although the USL Championship has not issued a formal statement, the Athletic acknowledged via its X account that the league had made its ruling.
“During our recent match against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, there was an alleged use of racially offensive language from a Pittsburgh player towards a Hartford Athletic player,” the post read. “The League conducted a formal investigation after we submitted an official report. The result of the investigation found the allegation unsubstantiated.
“We continue to stand behind our player and are grateful for our community’s support.”
The ruling comes a day after Griffin released his own lengthy statement, challenging the accusation. Griffin said he went so far as to take a polygraph test to prove his innocence.
“The events at the end of last Saturday’s match vs. Hartford were deeply stressful. In response, I want to make it absolutely clear: I did not use a racial slur at any point during the match, nor have I at any other point in my life,” Griffin wrote. “This accusation is completely false and quite harmful, in many ways. I stand strongly against racism (and any other form of discrimination) and would never engage in such behavior.
“There is no place for it in our society and certainly not on the soccer field. Respect, integrity, and inclusion are core values that I believe in, both on and off the field. This accusation has done extreme harm and damage to my reputation and is deeply painful.”
The Pittsburgh club also issued a statement Thursday standing by its player.
“Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC stands firmly with Danny Griffin following the events at the end of last Saturday’s match against Hartford. We know his character, we know his values, and we fully support the statement he has released today. We are unequivocal in our position: He did not use a racial slur,” the team’s release read.
Hartford’s decision to end the game could have proven costly as Pittsburgh is among the teams Athletic is jockeying with for playoff position. Hartford (10-10-5) is currently in fifth place in the USL’s Eastern Conference standings with 35 points and five league games to go. Pittsburgh (9-9-7), in sixth place and just one point behind Hartford, earned three valuable points as a result of the win.
Hartford is back in action on Saturday night at Colorado Springs at 8 p.m. The team then plays on Oct. 4 at Sacramento for the USL Cup championship, an in-season tournament. Another road game at Oakland follows on Oct. 7 before the team returns home for the final regular-season home game against Sacramento on Oct. 11 at Trinity Health Stadium.