Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews addressed the media following the team's morning skate on Wednesday after the story broke regarding his disorderly conduct charge in Scottsdale, Ariz. He stated to reporters, "I regret any of my actions that would ever put a distraction on the team or distress on any individual."
A police report obtained by The Toronto Star made public that Matthews and a group of friends allegedly tried to force entry into a security guard's car while she was sitting inside. The complaint states it occurred outside his condominium building on May 26.
“Obviously [it’s] not something I think any of us wish we were talking about today, but unfortunately it’s the situation we’re in," Matthews added, "I take a lot of pride in preparing myself for the season and representing the Toronto Maple Leafs as well as I can.”
@MapleLeafs player Auston Matthews makes brief statement to media about disorderly conduct charge he is facing in Arizona
— CityNews Toronto (@CityNews) September 25, 2019
READ HERE: https://t.co/cqzEo5I0Hn #tmltalk pic.twitter.com/6yhibQJOx0
In the report, the security guard said she confronted Matthews and his group regarding the attempts to open the car door, and that the Matthews said he thought it would be funny to see how she would respond. Matthews also allegedly pulled down his pants and grabbed his buttocks over his underwear during the incident while a friend spoke with the security guard. The police report says security camera footage shows a man walking with his pants around his ankles.
Matthews offered no further comments to reporters.
The Leafs issued the following statement on Sept. 24 regarding the report:
"The Toronto Maple Leafs are aware of the complaint of disturbing the peace against forward Auston Matthews. Auston is cooperating fully with the relevant authorities but neither he nor the Club will comment any further out of respect for the process involved."
It appears Matthews' teammates only found out about the charge when it was made public Tuesday.
Leafs defenseman Morgan Reilly told reporters that while the team takes the issue seriously, they will support the young star.
“I think as a group we don’t take this job for granted," Reilly said. "I think that applies to Auston as well. We feel very lucky to play here in Toronto and feel very lucky to have the jobs that we do. We try not to take that for granted — we try to treat people with respect, carry ourselves in a manner we can be proud of and Auston’s no different than that.”