UPDATED, 17:48: Two days before the start of the 2021 NHL season, NBC Sports and its longtime hockey analyst Mike Milbury split up. The news has been coming for more than four months since he was suspended for “insensitive and insulting” comments about women.
“We are grateful to Mike for all of his contributions to our coverage for 14 years,” said NBC Sports in a statement. “But he is not going back to our team of NHL advertisers. We wish you all the best. “
Milbury, a former NHL player and coach who has long been known to make controversial comments, did not immediately comment on his dismissal. He hasn’t tweeted since a week before his suspension from NBC Sports on August 22.
Milbury will be replaced on NBC Sports hockey broadcasts by another impetuous former coach, Mike Babcock.
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PREVIOUSLY, August 22: Former NHL player and coach Mike Milbury was removed from the game for the rest of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after comments he made on women on Thursday night on the NBC Sports Network.
Mike Milbury, who works as an analyst for the network, was on the air during the Washington Capitals-New York Islanders game and spoke with co-host Brian Boucher about the success of the NHL bubble during the coronavirus pandemic.
“If you think about it, it’s an amazing environment when it comes to – if you like to play and be with your teammates for long periods of time, it’s a perfect place,” said Boucher.
“Not even a woman is here to disturb your concentration,” Milbury replied.
The comment was clipped and shared on social media by a woman named Alison. The footage has had 2.3 million views so far.
It’s 2020 and still … 🤯 pic.twitter.com/d74TMlhkkP
– Alison (@AlisonL) August 21, 2020
On Saturday, NBC Sports PR posted a statement from Milbury in which he says, “I decided to step down from my role at NBC Sports for the rest of the StanleyCupPlayoffs.”
FROM MIKE MILBURY:
In light of the attention caused by my recent comment, I decided to move away from my role at NBC Sports to the rest of the StanleyCupPlayoffs. I don’t want my presence to get in the way of athletes looking to win the sport’s biggest trophy.– NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) August 22, 2020
In a statement to The Washington Post, NBC Sports said it was “disappointed by Mike’s insensitive comment”. According to the post, Milbury apologized for the comment.
The NHL posted a statement on Twitter calling Milbury’s remark “insensitive and insulting”.
A statement from the National Hockey League. pic.twitter.com/YCOTcoaK5l
– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) August 21, 2020
Milbury has made several misconceptions about gender, sexuality and sexual assault.