Carson Briere Removed from NCAA Hockey Team after Wheelchair Incident
Carson Briere, the 23-year-old son of Gatineau hockey great Daniel Briere, has been removed from the Mercyhurst University men’s hockey team, which is part of the NCAA’s Division 1.
Briere was temporarily suspended from the team after he was seen on security footage shoving an unoccupied wheelchair down a staircase in a bar in Erie, Pa. The owner of the wheelchair filed a complaint about the extensive damage caused to her chair, leading to charges being pressed against Briere and another Mercyhurst athlete, Patrick Carrozzi.
On Monday night, Mercyhurst Athletics announced Briere’s removal from the university’s hockey team, but did not provide any further comment on the matter.
The chain of events that led to this began on March 11, when Briere was captured on surveillance camera sitting in an empty wheelchair with three other people before pushing it down the stairs. The incident was posted to Twitter by an employee of Sullivan’s Pub where the incident occurred.
The next day, Briere and two other Mercyhurst athletes were placed on interim suspension, and the university stated that Briere’s actions violated the inherent dignity of each person and did not respect people with disabilities. A week later, Briere and Carrozzi were both charged with misdemeanors and disorderly conduct, as their actions created a potentially dangerous situation and blocked the staircase.
Sydney Benes, the owner of the wheelchair, filed a complaint after the incident detailing the damage caused to her chair, which was worth $2,000 and had been purchased a year earlier. Benes is a double amputee who lost her leg and foot in a car crash and requires the chair to be mobile while she learns to use her prosthetics.
Briere and his father Daniel apologized for the incident through the Philadelphia Flyers, where Daniel is the interim general manager. Carson had previously been dismissed from Arizona State’s hockey club in 2019 for violating team rules.
Sullivan’s Pub employees organized a GoFundMe page to help Benes raise funds to replace her damaged wheelchair, which has raised almost $9,000 as of press time. Benes expressed gratitude towards Sullivan’s Pub staff for their support during this difficult time and plans to donate the extra funds raised.
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