NBC Sports analyst and former Boston Bruins tough guy, Mike Milbury is no longer part of the hockey broadcast team. The 68 year-old was in the news this offseason for all the wrong reasons, and no he didn’t attack anyone with a shoe at Madison Square Garden this time.
A statement from NBC reads:
“We are grateful to Mike for all of his contributions to our coverage for 14 years, but he will not be returning to our NHL announce team. We wish him well.”
What led to Mike Milbury’s dismissal
Listen, controversy sells and that’s why NBC has Mike Milbury on air. He’s outspoken and has no problem criticizing players on live TV. He called out Tuukka Rask for opting out of the playoffs in round one, before it became public that Rask’s daughter had a medical emergency.
Milbury got into hot water during an RTP broadcast when discussing playing in the bubble. He made a disparaging comment towards women, calling them a distraction. This sent off a wave of backlash from key female journalists in the industry.
NHL condemns, Milbury apologizes
The NHL issued a statement on the matter and even contacted NBC Sports about the comment.
“The National Hockey League condemns the insensitive and insulting comment that Mike Milbury made during last night’s broadcast and we have communicated our feelings to NBC. The comment did not reflect the NHL’s values and commitment to making our game more inclusive and welcoming to all.”
Soon thereafter, an NBC Spokesperson said they have discussed that matter with him and released Milbury’s apology. “I sincerely apologize for making the comment,” he said. “I was trying to be irreverent and took it a step too far.”
This was coming
NBC made the decision to pull Mike Milbury off TV during the playoffs. What remained to be seen was if they would go all the way and fire him. It appears they have.
Currently, NBC is facing a lawsuit from Jeremy Roenick who also made comments on a podcast that he termed as “jokes”. There could be some hesitation at the network to pul the trigger on a termination because per Roenick’s lawsuit, there is a double standard on these situations and how NBC handles them.
Sources at NBC told me back in August that this was the straw that broke camel’s back. According to one source, Milbury was not pleasant to be around and many didn’t enjoy working when he was on the call sheet.
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