A student has apologised after he pushed an empty wheelchair down a flight of bar stairs.
The footage of Carson Briere, the son of Philadelphia Flyers interim boss and former pro hockey player Danny Briere, has gone viral on social media.
It shows the 23-year-old with friends at the top of the stairs. He sits in the wheelchair, before getting up and pushing it down the stairs.
In his apology, he said: “I am deeply sorry for my behaviour 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.”
Danny Briere, 45, who took over as Philadelphia Flyer’s general manager last week and played in the NHL for 17 seasons, expressed his shock after seeing the incident.
“[Carson’s actions] were inexcusable and run completely counter to our family’s values on treating people with respect,” he said. “Carson is very sorry and accepts full responsibility for his behaviour.”
The woman whose wheelchair it was tweeted to say she was “so thankful” for the bar’s help and didn’t want “to keep a cent” of the money donated to her following the incident. The woman who posted the original video on Twitter had started a gofundme page to raise money for a new wheelchair, which has received more than $8,800.
Carson Briere, who plays ice hockey for Mercyhurst University in Pennsylvania, was previously dismissed from Arizona state’s hockey club in 2019 for what the school called a violation of team rules.
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Mercyhurst University condemned the incident on Twitter, writing: “The actions displayed in the video make our hearts heavy and fall short of our Mercy belief in the inherent dignity of each person.
“Tradition also reminds us that students and all people who make poor choices deserve opportunities to learn, change behaviors and atone for harmful actions.”
A statement from Mercyhurst Athletics added that three students have been placed on interim suspension from their athletic teams.
