Son of Flyers GM Briere apologizes for ‘serious lack of judgment’ after wheelchair video goes viral

The son of interim Philadelphia Flyers general manager Daniel Briere apologized on Wednesday for having a “serious lack of judgment” after a video went viral showing a man push an empty wheelchair down a flight of stairs.

In the video, which appears to be from a fish-eye security camera at Sullivan’s Pub in Erie, Penn., two men wearing backward ball caps climb the stairs and have a conversation before one of the men – who is wearing a white ball cap – appears to sit in the empty wheelchair at the top of the stairs and wheels it forward, toward the entrance to the bar.

After the man with the white ball cap stands up out of the chair, the second man positions the wheelchair at the edge of the stairs. The man with the white cap then pushes the chair down the stairs. A portion of the chair appears to break off as it hits the stairs.

The time stamp on the video displays Saturday’s date of 3-11-2023 and counts up from around 11:38 p.m. As of 4:20 p.m. ET on Wednesday, the video had 22.4 million views. A GoFundMe page, opened by the person who originally posted the video on Twitter, to raise money for a new wheelchair had raised almost $6,000.

From the Flyers, statements from GM Daniel Briere and his son, Carson pic.twitter.com/wClfSlNBvh

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) March 15, 2023

Carson Briere, 24, is a third-year player with the Mercyhurst University men’s team, and previously played with the Trail Smoke Eaters of the BCHL. He is identified on the Mercyhurst roster page as being the son of Daniel Briere and Sylvie Lessard.

In statements issue via social media, both Carson and his father apologized for an incident, not specifically referring to the video with the wheelchair.

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

When contacted by Sportsnet, the Flyers re-issued the statements above but did not respond when asked for a statement on behalf of the team.

Danny Briere’s statement: “I was shocked to see Carson’s actions in the video that was shared on social media yesterday. 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.”

Carson Briere’s statement: “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 judgment.”

A report on Wednesday said the Erie Police Department was investigating the incident.