Ducks GM Bob Murray Testifies in Response to Alleged Bar Stool Incident
By jer
Last week I told you about the woman, Rachel Paris, testifying against Anaheim Ducks general manager Bob Murray regarding a 2009 incident in which Paris alleges that Murray assaulted her with a bar stool. After Paris gave her testimony on Wednesday, Murray got to tell his side of the story on Friday (August 17th).
From the Detroit Free Press, after the Ducks had lost game seven 4-3 to the Detroit Red Wings in the 2009 Western Conference Semifinals, Murray claims:
"“I was thinking about getting down to the dressing room as fast as I could,” Murray told the eight-member jury in U.S. District Court in Detroit on the final day of testimony. “I was thinking about what I would say” to the team and coach.Murray said he didn’t realize anything was amiss until a Ducks staffer told him that Paris had complained that he hit her with one of the heavy, high-backed upholstered stools in the narrow press box.Murray said he asked to be taken to Paris and apologized.“She was really mad,” Murray recalled, adding that she called him names.“I was shaken up,” he added. He said he left the area, but returned a short time later and apologized again. The second time around, he said Paris gave him a hug and he left for the airport for the flight back to California."
Though at the time of the incident she declined to file a formal complaint or accept any medical treatment, Paris is asking for an award in excess $75,000 to cover her injuries (which she claims later caused her to lose her job, house, and car). In response to Paris’s claims that the incident left her with, among other injuries, debilitating shoulder pain and an inability to walk long distances, the Detroit Free Press reports that Murray and the Ducks’ lawyer showed video evidence to the contrary:
"He played surveillance video to the jury showing Paris filling a 2 1/2-gallon gas can, lifting it with her left hand to put it into the back of her SUV and raising both arms high above her head to close the vehicle’s hatchback. He also showed video showing her carrying groceries in her left hand on a long walk back from a supermarket, contrary to her claims that she can’t walk far."
Closing arguments in the case are expected on Monday. We’ll continue to follow the story on Ducks Daily Blog.
Jer is ready for more discussion about Bob Murray that doesn’t involve debate on if he should lose his job. Follow him on Twitter @JerMeansWell.