Washington Capitals forward Brendan Leipsic was the talk of Twitter on Wednesday after misogynistic comments he made in a private Instagram group were leaked to the public.
The National Hockey League released a statement in regards to the remarks.
“The National Hockey League strongly condemns the misogynistic and reprehensible remarks made by players Brendan Leipsic and Jack Rodewald in a private group chat that has surfaced on social media,” the statement read. “There is no place in our League for such statements, attitudes and behaviour, no matter the forum. We will address this inexcusable conduct with the clubs and players involved.”
The Capitals released a statement of their own, as well.
“We are aware of the unacceptable and offensive comments made by Brendan Leipsic in a private conversation on social media. We will handle this matter internally.”
From the @Capitals, on Brendan Leipsic's DMs: “We are aware of the unacceptable and offensive comments made by Brendan Leipsic in a private conversation on social media. We will handle this matter internally.”
— Hemal Jhaveri (@hemjhaveri) May 6, 2020
Leipsic was involved in social media messages including comments on about number of women, as well as players in the NHL. Screenshots of the group chat began to surface Wednesday afternoon.
The 25-year-old issued an apology after the messages were made public.
“Yesterday my friend’s Instagram account was hacked and an individual circulated images that are representative of private conversations I was a part of,” he said. “I fully recognize how inappropriate and offensive these comments are and sincerely apologize to everyone for my actions.”
“I am committed to becoming a better person by taking time to determine how to move forward in an accountable, meaningful way. I am truly sorry.”
Leipsic has spent time with five different NHL organizations — Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights, Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings and Capitals — since 2015.
He’s played in 187 career games with 59 points on 16 goals and 43 assists.
