Carson Biere is ‘kicked off’ by the Mercyhurst University hockey team two weeks after being charged
Carson Briere – the son of Danny Briere, interim general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers – has been dropped from his college hockey team two weeks after facing several charges for pushing an empty wheelchair down a flight of stairs at a Pennsylvania bar.
The university, which is located on Lake Erie, announced the exclusion of the 23-year-old from the team in a statement Monday.
“Carson Briere has been removed from the Mercyhurst University Men’s Ice Hockey Team,” the team’s account said on Twitter. “Mercyhurst cannot comment further on the matter.”
Briere faces misdemeanor charges of criminal mischief resulting in property damage and a summary count of disorderly conduct.
Patrick Carrozzi, listed as a senior member of the school’s lacrosse team, faces the same three charges, according to documents filed with District Judge Sue Mack. The two are due to appear in court on May 22.
Carson Briere (L), the son of Flyers interim GM Danny Briere (R), has been fired from the Mercyhurst University hockey team after being caught pushing an empty wheelchair down the stairs at a bar in Erie, Pennsylvania, on March 20.
Video posted to social media on March 20 showed Briere and now former teammate Patrick Carrozzi pushing an empty wheelchair down the stairs at Sullivan’s Pub and Eatery in Erie, Pennsylvania
Sydney Benes, 22, who lost her legs in a car accident in 2021, was using the downstairs toilet at Sullivan’s when she found her wheelchair at the bottom of the stairs, damaged
Briere and Carrozzi were initially caught on surveillance footage at the top of a staircase at Sullivan’s Pub and Eatery pushing the wheelchair down the stairs on March 11.
Police say their actions posed a potential danger to anyone climbing the stairs, while also creating a dangerous situation by blocking the stairs.
The owner of the wheelchair, identified as Sydney Benes, filed a complaint saying the fall down the stairs damaged the left brake lever, broke the plastic molding of the right armrest, bent a rear handle and caused the wheels to drag when driving forward. Benes said the wheelchair was purchased a year ago and cost $2,000.
Initially, after the news broke, Briere, Carrozzi and another Mercyhurst athlete were temporarily suspended while the school investigated the matter. However, all three are believed to have earned enough support to continue their education at the private, Roman Catholic university.
Two weeks after making headlines for all the wrong reasons, Briere apologized in a statement released through the NHL’s Flyers.
“I am deeply sorry for my behavior on Saturday,” he said. “There is no excuse for my actions and I will do everything I can to make up for this serious lack of judgment.”
Briere apologized for his reckless behavior last month, but Benes previously said she found the hockey player’s apology “insincere”
Benes (L) and Nathaniel Sanders, the security manager at Sullivan’s Pub
Briere was expelled from the Arizona State hockey club earlier in 2019 for violating team rules
Danny Briere, who was promoted to manage the Flyers after Chuck Fletcher was fired on March 10, said he was shocked to see his son’s actions and called them “inexcusable,” while saying his son “takes full responsibility accepts for his conduct’.
Mercyhurst previously released a statement saying the actions shown in the video are inconsistent with the school’s “belief in the inherent dignity of each person,” adding that the school’s tradition also reminds us that students and all people who make bad choices deserve opportunities to learn, change behavior and atone for harmful actions.”
Carson Briere was fired from the Arizona State Hockey Club earlier in 2019 for what the school called a violation of team rules.