A disabled woman whose wheelchair was pushed down a flight of stairs by Mercyhurst University men’s hockey center Carson Briere issued an “insincere” apology after the incident.
Briere, the son of former NHLer and interim Flyers GM Daniel Briere, was caught on camera pushing an empty wheelchair down a flight of stairs in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Saturday night with two other university student-athletes.
Video of the event shared by Julia Zukowski shows Briere, wearing a white hat, sitting on a chair in the hallway before he brutally pushes it down the stairs before walking back into the crowded bar.
Zukowski argued that the wheelchair passenger had to “physically carry” downstairs to use the bathroom later that evening.
The owner of the chair who recognized himself on social media as “Sydney,” Briere hit out in a series of tweets Wednesday, saying she would donate most of the $8,000 GoFundMe raised to a new wheelchair after hers was damaged.
“Hi in Sydney and my chair was pushed down the stairs. I’m so grateful for all of Sullivan’s help with this situation and the kind comments I see on Julia’s post,” she wrote on her Twitter account. @_legless_wonderposes next to a bar employee.
“I swear I really don’t want to keep a cent of the money donated, I’d rather give it to those who need it,” he said, later adding that he has enough money to fix his wheelchair.
In a separate tweet, Sydney said she doesn’t blame the bar and said security excused Briere before they kicked her out. But he claimed the college hockey player was being “dishonest” and even asked the pitcher “Do I still have to go?” after apologizing.
He said in several tweets that he seemed coherent.
“They have shown their true colors,” he wrote in the post. “The ones who are entitled, spoiled, ignorant, douchecanoes. I don’t want to ruin their lives, but they’ve clearly just gotten a slap on the wrist their whole life. They need to learn that their behavior is completely unacceptable.”
On Wednesday, the school’s athletic department said Briere and two other student-athletes in the video were suspended from his own team.
“I deeply regret my behavior on Saturday,” Briere, a junior at Mercyhurst, said in a statement. “There is no excuse for my actions and I will do everything in my power to make up for this serious lapse in judgment.”
Mercyhurst University in Erie said they were made aware of the video.
The school told The Daily Mail that the Erie Police Department took over the investigation.
Sydney said she will use some of the GoFundMe money to repair the damaged chair, but the rest will be donated.
“I’d like to clarify that I’m using the GoFundMe donations to fix my chair, but everything else goes to the disability community and people who really need help,” he tweeted Thursday night.
Philadelphia native Briere played 30 games for the Lakers in the 2022-23 season – a total of five goals and eight assists. He was dismissed from the Arizona State men’s hockey team as a freshman in 2019, according to the program, for violating team rules.
His father, Daniel Briere, played 17 seasons in the NHL, including six with the Flyers and a Stanley Cup game with Philadelphia in 2010.
He was named the team’s interim CEO on Friday.