Canucks Jake Virtanen Put On Leave After Sexual Misconduct Allegations

The Vancouver Canucks have announced forward Jake Virtanen has been put on leave after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced on Saturday. The forward has been sent home and the team released the following statement:

The #canucks confirm that Jake Virtanen has been placed on leave. pic.twitter.com/efL7e3Qp0J
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) May 1, 2021

Reporter Alanna Kelly of Glacier Media spoke to the woman who identified Virtanen. They did not identify her because of public backlash and for the sake of the story called her Emily. It mentioned she contacted police but to this point no charges have been laid. 'Emily' had this to say:

I couldn’t believe that I said no and he didn’t take that for an answer. I felt violated and gross and wanted to leave.

The alleged incident took place in September of 2017. Apparently the two agreed to meet, Virtanen picked her up and drove her to a Vancouver hotel where the sexual misconduct took place. According to the report, Emily came forward after seeing other women come forward with their own experiences on an anonymous Instagram account.

Virtanen has declined to comment at this time.