BOSTON - Police said Friday that they've charged former Boston Bruins player and coach Mike Milbury with assaulting a 12-year-old peewee hockey player who was jawing with his son.
Brookline Police Capt. Tom Keaveney said Milbury, an assistant coach on his son's team, allegedly grabbed, threatened and shook the opposing player as the teams were shooting around following a Dec. 9 game at a Boston-area rink. The boy wasn't hurt, Keaveney said.
Milbury, 59, of Needham, Mass., will be summoned to court to face misdemeanour charges including assault and battery on a 12-year-old, threats to commit a crime and disorderly conduct, he said. Keaveney said police have video evidence of the alleged attack.
But Milbury denied an assault "of any kind," in a statement from his lawyer.
"He simply intervened in an altercation between his son and an opposing player," the statement said. "No one was struck, no one was injured and no one was threatened."
Milbury, a defenceman, played parts of 12 seasons with the Bruins and later served as coach, leading the team to the Stanley Cup finals in 1990, where they lost to the Edmonton Oilers. He also was coach and general manager of the New York Islanders.
Milbury was well-known as a player for a 1979 incident when he brawled in the stands in New York with fans who had grabbed some teammates' sticks, whacking one fan in the leg with his own shoe.
Milbury is an NHL analyst for NBC Sports and CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. Both networks announced Friday that he'd been taken off the air.
"CBC Sports spoke with Mike late this afternoon. After a good discussion, we both decided that he won't be a part of Hockey Night In Canada broadcasts while he focuses on his personal situation," CBC spokesperson Chuck Thompson said in a statement.
NBC Sports said: "We both came to the conclusion that he should remain off the air while focusing on his affairs."
Keaveney said police learned about the alleged assault from a parent who wasn't there, but heard about it afterward. He said officers interviewed witnesses, including the alleged victim, before bringing charges.
