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The Boston Bruins have rescinded their entry-level contract with Mitchell Miller following criticism for their decision to sign him despite his past conviction of racially abusing and bullying a developmentally disabled Black classmate, NHL.com reports.
Miller, 20, a defenseman, was initially selected by the Arizona Coyotes in the fourth-round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft before a detailed account of himself and another middle classmate's conviction in juvenile court on charges of racially abusing and bullying Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, who is Black, in 2016 was made public shortly after.
Miller, who spent the 2021-22 season playing for the Tri-City Storm of the USHL and had 83 points on 39 goals and 44 assists, was reported to have signed with the Bruins last Friday (November 4), but the defenseman wasn't cleared by the National Hockey League and the team said it realized it had made a mistake.
"Today the Boston Bruins have decided to part ways with Mitchell Miller, effective immediately," team president Cam Neely said in a statement shared by NHL.com. "The decision to sign this young man was made after careful consideration of the facts as we were aware of them: that at 14 years old he made a poor decision that led to a juvenile conviction. We understood this to be an isolated incident and that he had taken meaningful action to reform and was committed to ongoing personal development. Based on that understanding we offered him a contract.
"Based on new information, we believe it is the best decision at this time to rescind the opportunity for Mitchell Miller to represent the Boston Bruins. We hope that he continues to work with professionals and programs to further his education and personal growth.
"We owe it to our fans, players, staff, partners and community to make sure that our practices and protocols are in keeping with the ethos that we demand from ourselves and as an organization. As such, we will be reevaluating our internal processes for vetting individuals who wish to earn the privilege of playing in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins.
"We are sorry that this decision has overshadowed the incredible work the members of our organization do to support diversity and inclusion efforts. We will continue to stand against bullying and racism in all of its forms.
"To Isaiah and his family, my deepest apologies if this signing made you and other victims feel unseen and unheard. We apologize for the deep hurt and impact we have caused.
"Finally, as a father, I think there is a lesson to be learned here for other young people. Be mindful of careless behaviors and going with the group mentality of hurting others. The repercussions can be felt for a lifetime."
Several Bruins players, including captain Patrice Bergeron and star forward Brad Marchand, expressed their concerns with the organization over signing in Miller.
"For me, I know for myself anyways, in this locker room, we're all about inclusion, diversity, respect," Bergeron said via NHL.com. "Those are key words and core values we have. We expect guys to wear this jersey to be high-character people with integrity and respect. That's how they should be acting."
"We have a culture in this organization, in this room," Marchand added. "We obviously don't condone what happened. That will never be part of our team and our organization."
Meyer-Crothers' mother alleged that Miller began abusing her son in second grade, which included repeated usage of racial epithets and continued for several years prior to the conviction.
"When I was in eighth grade, I made an extremely poor decision and acted very immaturely," Miller said in a statement released by the Bruins and obtained by ESPN on Friday. "I bullied one of my classmates. I deeply regret the incident and have apologized to the individual. Since the incident, I have come to better understand the far-reaching consequences of my actions that I failed to recognize and understand nearly seven years ago."
"... To be clear, what I did when I was 14 years old was wrong an unacceptable. There is no place in this world for being disrespectful to others and I pledge to use this opportunity to speak out against mistreating others."
Last Friday, Neely said the team's decision to sign Miller took place after the franchise's hockey operations department and community relations group spent time with the 20-year-old during the past few weeks to "better understand" who he is as a person and "learn more about a significant mistake he made when he was in middle school."
"During this evaluation period, Mitchell was accountable for his unacceptable behavior and demonstrated his commitment to work with multiple organizations and professionals to further his education and use his mistake as a teachable moment for others," Neely said in a statement obtained by ESPN. "The expectation is that he will continue this important educational work with personal development and community programs as a member of the Bruins organization."