Former New York Rangers star Ron Duguay took to the Manhattan federal courthouse steps on Thursday to announce to the world that his interest in a certain litigious ex-governor of Alaska is strictly platonic. Days into Sarah Palin’s ongoing defamation trial against The New York Times, the one-time NHL player was photographed holding hands with the former politician outside the court, adding fuel to the fire of already rampant dating rumors. But, Duguay insisted to reporters after proceedings ended on Thursday, they’re just besties. “We’re friends,” he told reporters. “I’m here to support her. We have gotten closer through this process.” The self-proclaimed “Caribou Barbie” herself, who is suing the Gray Lady over a 2017 editorial, told the New York Post on Wednesday that Duguay was her “buddy,” explaining that they had hockey in common. In his comments on the courthouse steps, Duguay remarked that he had found the trial “very interesting” so far.