Mike Milbury, longtime NHL commentator for NBC, was fired in January for comments he made during a broadcast that were deemed “insensitive” and insulting.”
While broadcasting a playoff game in the NHL bubble in 2020, Milbury and co-host Brian Boucher discussed the advantages of playing without any fans, as reported by SportsCasting.com.
“If you think about it, it’s a terrific environment with regard to — if you enjoy playing and enjoy being with your teammates for long periods of time, it’s a perfect place,” Boucher said.
Mike Milbury replied, “Not even any women here to disrupt your concentration.”
The comment resulted in Milbury leaving the bubble the next day and issuing an apology.
He continued to receive payment from the network through the final year of his deal, but now that the last check has been cashed, the former analyst is speaking out.
In an interview with the Boston Globe, Milbury said, “Excuse me, but I am not going to be canceled. I refuse to be canceled. The only thing that’s going to cancel me is the grim reaper, and I can see him in the distance, but not yet.”
SportsCasting.com notes that Mike Milbury was always someone that often operated without a filter and said exactly what was on his mind, yet Milbury told the Boston Globe that in this case, he was just speaking from experience.
“I want to explain the comment from that day,” he said. “As a player and coach in the league, I’ve been on a lot of road trips and around a lot of guys that are young, fit, well-compensated, have celebrity status, and when they go on the road they play hard and they party hard. And a lot of their attention is on women, and I certainly don’t mean that in a bad way.
