Flyers condemn social media staffers caught berating reporter on hot mic

The Philadelphia Flyers released an apology for "disrespectful remarks" their own social media team made toward Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Giana Han during Garnet Hathaway’s introductory press conference on Tuesday.

Clearly the unnamed staff members were unaware that their profane criticisms were caught on a "hot mic." While the team deleted the original evidence of the moment (which they originally posted), Twitter account "Lights Out Hockey" captured it.

As you can note above, a voice overshadows Hathaway in asking, "how many times does she have to ask this [expletive] question?" You can faintly hear someone else sarcastically say "Flyers suck, why are you even watching?"

Team president Keith Jones and the Flyers issued the following apology for the remarks:

"Earlier today, our team’s social media account streamed a recording of a virtual press conference which included disrespectful remarks by members of our social media staff. On behalf of the entire Flyers organization, I want to extend our apologies. Any disrespect towards reporters is completely unacceptable, especially when they are simply doing their job. We have reached out to the reporter and outlet personally to express our regret, and will continue to promote an environment of mutual respect when working with media."

The Flyers didn’t mention Han or the Inquirer by name in that release, but plenty of people justifiably defended the question about Hathaway choosing the Flyers as a free-agent destination. The New York Post’s Mollie Walker criticized a "mind-boggling" lack of respect by the Flyers’ social media team.

No doubt, it’s never a great sign when you need to roll out an apologetic press release regarding the people in charge of shaping your public image.

As much as GM Danny Briere is charged with rebuilding the Flyers on the ice, it looks like the franchise also has some work to do behind the scenes.