Hockey analyst Mike Milbury is taking heat for the latest comment he made on NHL on NBC. During the playoff game between the New York Islanders and Washington Capitals, the former NHL player was asked by co-host John Forslund about the environment of the NHL bubble. Milbury said there weren’t women in the bubble to “distract” the players.
“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,” Forslund said. That led to Milbury responding, “Not even any woman here to disrupt your concentration.” After Milbury made the comment, a number of people on social media took aim at him. And as of Friday afternoon, neither NBC Sports nor Milbury has issued a statement on the comments.
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Heteronormative, sexist, factually incorrect, a terrible take…there is so much going on here and none of it is a good look. #ChangeHockeyCulture https://t.co/oE2Y4FENV8
— Donnovan Bennett (@donnovanbennett) August 21, 2020
I’m so sick of Milbury having a platform when they are so many other talented people who would actually help this sport & maybe not view women as “a distraction” https://t.co/8vaXu1S8yN
— Jillian Fisher (@FisherJillian) August 21, 2020
“I’m not usually one to call for someone’s head, but NBC needs to get rid of Mike Milbury,” one person on Twitter wrote. “Saying something like ‘and there weren’t even women there to distract them’ is insane. It’s 2020 and hockey fans are diversifying. They/we deserve better.”
This isn’t the first time Milbury has been criticized for his comments. Earlier this month, Milbury took aim at Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask for opting out of the playoffs to be with his wife and children. Milbury responded to the news by saying “nobody’s simply opted to leave the bubble just because they didn’t want to be here and they needed to be with their family.”
Mike Milbury on Tuukka Rask: “Nobodies simply opted to leave the bubble just because they didn’t want to be here and they needed to be with their family. I would’ve not have done it, the rest of the league’s players have not done it.” #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/6Hc2tnuHVk
— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) August 15, 2020
Milbury, 68, played for the Bruins from 1974-1987. He went on to be a head coach for the Bruins (1989-91) and the New York Islanders (1995-99). He was also an assistant general manager for the Bruins and general manager for the Islanders.
