Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic says he’s "done trying to defend" his hometown of Vancouver after he claims he was punched twice at a nightclub.
"I have no reason left to try and defend my city, and the people of my city," Lucic told reporters in Boston on Monday. "Other than being at Rogers Arena, no one will ever see me in downtown Vancouver ever again."
A video released on the Internet that has since gone viral shows Lucic in an altercation with an unknown person in front of Vancouver police. No punches are thrown in the video.
Lucic and the Boston Bruins were in Vancouver for a game on Saturday. The Canucks won the game 6-2.
Lucic told Boston reporters that the incident took place after the game and he was punched twice — once inside the club and once outside.
"It’s something that happened late Saturday night and it’s something I’m not proud of, but it was part of an unprovoked attack," he said. "I was punched in the face on two separate occasions. From this point forward, I’m just exploring to pursue this in a legal manner."
Lucic has had problems in his hometown before. Last year, a Serbian Orthodox church in Burnaby connected to Lucic’s family was vandalized. Lucic also claims his grandparents have been harassed at Rogers Arena.
The Bruins and Canucks have had an antagonistic relationship since Boston won the 2011 Stanley Cup on Rogers Centre ice in a testy seven-game series. In Saturday’s game, Bruins forward Brad Marchand celebrated a goal by mimicking lifting the Cup and pretending to kiss his championship ring.
