Danny Griffin, Pittsburgh Riverhounds Deny Use of Racial Slur During Game Against Hartford Athletic
Hartford's Marlon Hairston appeared to double down on his claims in his own social media posts
After a few days of silence, controversy around the conclusion of Saturday’s game between Pittsburgh Riverhounds and Hartford Athletic reignited on Thursday, with both clubs making social media posts about the incident, and both players — Pittsburgh’s Danny Griffin and Hartford’s Marlon Hairston — making statements on social media as well.
The first comments of the day came from Hartford. Speaking to media on Thursday morning at the club’s training facility, Day Hill Dome, Brendan Burke defended his team’s response in walking off the field on Saturday.
“I think our guys handled it appropriately,” he said. “We supported the player that was allegedly aggrieved and I think we did the right thing by him and gave a good account of ourselves.”
Burke also added that, while the league investigates, “we just want to have a positive response to it. So we’re looking to be proactive in the community in our response to it and actually take action and and be helpful…I’ve spoken with ownership and the team about actually going and doing something productive in the community in response to it instead of complaining about it.”
It was unclear what this might entail, and Hartford Athletic had not responded to a request for clarification at time of publication.
Just before 4 PM, Danny Griffin — who had not previously been publicly identified by either club as the player involved — posted on X (formerly Twitter), denying that he had used a racial slur during the game. He described the accusation as “completely false” and “quite hurtful,” and also claimed that he had voluntarily taken a polygraph examination to confirm that he had not used a slur during the game.
It’s unclear what value a polygraph examination would bring to the investigation — regardless of what it purported to prove — as they are notoriously unreliable. While defenders of such examinations claim they are highly accurate, studies by the National Academy of Sciences’ suggest otherwise, indicating the scientific basis for these claims to efficacy is weak.
At about the same time as Griffin’s statement was published, Pittsburgh Riverhounds also released a statement of their own on X, captioned “Club statement in support of Danny Griffin.”
Pittsburgh’s statement also emphasized the fact that Griffin allegedly passed a polygraph examination, and also saying in part “we are unequivocal in our position. He did not use a racial slur.”
The statement also criticized Hartford Athletic, as well as “segments of the media” for their handling of the matter, saying “what has unfolded in recent days has unfairly damaged the reputation of our player and our entire organization.”
Later on Thursday evening, Hartford Athletic posted a black-and-white version of the team logo on several social media channels, including Instagram and Bluesky, with the caption “We Stand Together.” The club also updated its banner on Bluesky and Twitter to a black background with a stylized clenched fist, a symbol that has recently been prominently associated with the Black Lives Matter movement.
In response to comments on Instagram suggesting that he had misheard what was said by Griffin, Hairston posted “My ears work perfectly,” and later updated his own Instagram story, reiterating his claims, and also mentioning a polygraph.
“First off, we could’ve done that polygraph together, but the league said NO,” Hairston said. “So instead you claim to do one anyways. I don’t even know you bro, and despite that I’ve been helping you save face. But you’re not about to play the victim here. You know exactly what you said. And not only did you say it, but you didn’t deny it after I confronted you.”
At time of publication, neither Hartford Athletic nor the USL had responded to a request for comment.