It was less than a week since Danny Briere was announced as interim general manager of the Flyers and he already had to make a major statement.
Yet, one of his first public addresses was not about the Philadelphia club, but a family matter.
Briere's 23-year-old son, Carson, caused a bit of controversy in the middle of March. The current Mercyhurst University forward was seen in a viral video on Twitter pushing an unoccupied wheelchair down the stairs at a club.
The youngest Briere has since been charged with second-degree misdeamenors and removed from the Mercyhurst men's hockey program.
As a result, Briere released a statement on March 15, condemning the actions of his son.
From the Flyers, statements from GM Daniel Briere and his son, Carson pic.twitter.com/wClfSlNBvh
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) March 15, 2023
"I was shocked to see Carson's actions in the video that was shared on social media yesterday," Briere said. "They are inexcusable and run completely counter to our family's values on treating people with respect. Carson is very sorry and accepts full responsibility for his behavior."
Briere's son released a statement of his own, stating his remorse for the incident:
"I am deeply sorry for my behavior on Saturday. There is no excuse for my actions, and I will do whatever I can to make up for this serious lack of judgement."
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It is not the first time that Carson has been in trouble during his time playing college hockey. The Sporting News dives into his past incidents and more regarding the viral video.
Carson Briere controversy timeline
Damaged wheelchair video
Briere kept a low profile through his first two years at Mercyhurst but recently found himself in hot water.
A video was posted to Twitter on Tuesday, March 14 that showed two males engaging in a conversation at a bar called Sullivan's near the Mercyhurst campus.
Before the pair leaves to go back to the crowd of people, the male in the white hat, identified by the Twitter user as Briere, is seen on camera shoving the wheelchair down the stairs.
I usually don’t post anything serious on my twitter but something happened Saturday night and just can’t stomach the thought of this kid getting away with it. In the video below is a @MercyhurstU student and is currently on the @HurstMensHockey team. Carson Briere. pic.twitter.com/kWWlEYEc7V
— julia (@juliazukowski) March 14, 2023
The user that posted the video, Julia Zukowski, gave further context to the video, adding that "the chair was left on top of the stairs because (the owner) physically had to be carried down to use the restrooms. Which are only located downstairs."
The owner of the wheelchair identified herself on Twitter later on, a woman by the name of Sydney.
Hi im Sydney and it was my chair that was pushed down the stairs. I’m so thankful for all of Sullivan’s help in this situation and the kind comments I see on Julia’s post. I swear I really don’t wanna keep a cent of the donated money, I’d much rather give it to those who need it. pic.twitter.com/1I5q05jdeO
— Sydney (@_legless_wonder) March 16, 2023
Later that day, Mercyhurst University tweeted a response to the video, stating that campus police were investigating the incident.
"Late this afternoon, Mercyhurst University became aware of a disturbing video in which one of our student-athletes is seen pushing an unoccupied wheelchair down a flight of stairs at a local establishment. Our Office of Student Conduct and Department of Police and Safety are investigating."
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Mercyhurst released another statement. Briere, in addition to the other two males in the video who are student-athletes, have all been suspended from their respective athletic teams pending the results of the investigation.
Statement from Mercyhurst Athletics. pic.twitter.com/qkO2szewhi
— Mercyhurst Lakers (@HurstAthletics) March 15, 2023
Weeks later, on April 3, Mercyhurst announced that Briere has been removed from the team.
A statement on behalf of Mercyhurst University and Mercyhurst University Athletics. pic.twitter.com/D4fnpyhOk6
— Mercyhurst Lakers (@HurstAthletics) April 3, 2023
Briere was charged as well. On March 20, it was reported by the Erie Times-News that Briere and one of the other individuals, identified as Patrick Carrozzi, a member of the men's lacrosse team, had been charged with criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.
The charges are second-degree misdemeanors of criminal mischief related to damaged property, criminal conspiracy to commit criminal mischief and the summary offense of disorderly conduct.
The two are scheduled to be arraigned at a preliminary hearing on May 22.
Arizona State dismissal
Briere's Plan A in the NCAA was not Mercyhurst. The son of the longtime NHL forward was originally at Arizona State University in 2019, pursuing a college hockey career with the Sun Devils.
His stay in Tempe did not last long. In November of his freshman year, Briere, along with classmate Logan Jenuwine, were dismissed from the program for a violation of team rules.
He did not play in a single NCAA game for ASU, as he was expected to redshirt that season.
"I was just going out; I wasn’t taking hockey seriously," Briere said in a 2021 College Hockey News article. "It wasn’t anything bad, it was just not being committed to hockey, I was more committed to having fun at school. Too much partying, that’s probably the best way to put it."
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Once he was removed from the program, he joined the Trail Smoke Eaters of the BCHL, a Junior A ice hockey league in British Columbia that is one of many common pipelines to the NCAA.
After a season in the BCHL, Briere rejoined the college ranks, enrolling at Mercyhurst University in the fall of 2020 and joining the program run by longtime coach Rick Gotkin.
Was Carson Briere drafted into the NHL?
Briere was not drafted by any NHL team and is no longer draft eligible due to his age. He is considered an NCAA free agent who can sign with any team.
He did attend Flyers development camp in the summer of 2019, but that has been his only time with any NHL club in any capacity.
In his third season with the Lakers, Briere posted five goals and 13 points in 30 games. Mercyhurst was eliminated from the Atlantic Hockey tournament recently, losing to RIT in the first round.