Florida Panthers Owner, Trump Secretary of Army Pick Vincent Viola Once Punched Concession Worker At Horse Auction

Florida Panthers owner and Trump secretary of Army nominee Vincent Viola made it clear that the president-elect is well aware of the incident.

Florida Panthers mascot waves team flag.
USA Today Sports

Image via USA Today Sports/Robert Mayer

Florida Panthers mascot waves team flag.

Vincent Viola, owner of the NHL's Florida Panthers and president-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of the Army, was accused of punching a concessions worker at a racehorse auction in New York last year. According to the New York Times, Saratoga Springs PD arrived at the auction on August 8, 2016 where they saw the concessions worker sporting a “swollen bloody lip,” accusing Viola of punching him in the face. 

Viola told his account of the incident to the police, claiming that his wife, Theresa, informed him that the concessions worker pushed her when she tried to enter a restricted area to get water for a woman who recently fainted. After Teresa pointed out the person who pushed her to her husband, Vincent confronted the guy. Eventually, things escalated, and that's when he threw the punch.  

While chief of the Saratoga Springs Police Department, Greg Veitch, states that "both incidents involved actions that could have been charged as harassment," neither person decided to press charges. A spokesperson for Viola didn't deny that the Wall Street trader threw a punch, and made it clear that the incident was brought up to Trump's transition team well before receiving the secretary of the Army nomination. 

When he officially announced Viola as his pick for secretary of the Army, Trump referred to the Panthers owner as “a man of outstanding work ethic, integrity, and strategic vision, with an exceptional ability to motivate others.” Kinda ironic, no? 

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