Carson Briere has been removed from the Mercyhurst hockey team after wheelchair incident
The son of Danny Brière, Flyers interim general manager, was caught on video pushing a wheelchair, which belonged to a woman who is a double amputee, down a flight of stairs at a bar last month.
Carson Briere, who was charged with criminal mischief and disorderly conduct for pushing an empty wheelchair down a flight of stairs at a bar last month, has been removed from the Mercyhurst University ice hockey team, the Erie school announced Monday.
Briere, son of Flyers interim general manager Danny Briere, was caught on security video pushing the wheelchair, which belonged to a woman who is a double amputee. She had left it at the top of the stairs while she was being carried to a restroom downstairs.
After the video went viral on social media, Carson Briere, who was widely condemned for his action, was charged in Erie County with criminal mischief, conspiracy to commit criminal mischief, and disorderly conduct. He was scheduled for a preliminary hearing on May 22.
Briere “has been removed from the Mercyhurst University Men’s Ice Hockey Team,” the school said in a statement posted late Monday afternoon on Twitter.
“Mercyhurst cannot comment further on this matter,” said the statement, which was attributed to both Mercyhurst University and Mercyhurst Athletics.
Briere has apologized for the March 11 incident.
“I am deeply sorry for my behavior on Saturday,” Briere wrote in a statement after the video went viral. “There is no excuse for my actions, and I will do whatever I can to make up for this serious lack of judgment.”
Chad Vilushis, the attorney listed in court records as representing Briere, could not be reached for comment Monday evening.
A spokesperson for his father also could not be reached for comment.
A GoFundMe launched to pay for a new wheelchair for the woman has raised $8,811 as of Monday evening. The wheelchair’s owner, Sydney Benes, has said that after she pays for a replacement wheelchair, she’ll donate the remainder to others in need, according to the GoFundMe.