The Bruins announced Friday that they’ve signed Mitchell Miller to an entry-level contract. Miller was originally drafted by the Coyotes in 2020, but the team renounced him as its draft pick three days later after it was revealed that he bullied a Black classmate with a developmental disability in eighth grade.
In 2020, the Arizona Republic reported that Miller and another classmate were charged in an Ohio Juvenile Court for assaulting Isaiah Meyer-Crothers. The incident included tricking Meyer-Crothers into licking a piece of candy that had been wiped in a urinal. Miller and the classmate were sentenced to 25 hours of community service, were ordered to write a an apology to Meyer-Crothers, and had to undergo counseling and pay court costs.
Meyer-Crothers, however, told the Republic that the bullying lasted longer than this one incident. He said Miller called him “brownie” and the “N-word” while consistently hitting him during their time growing up.
The Coyotes took Miller in the fourth round of the NHL draft before renouncing the pick. Last year, Miller signed with the Tri-City Storm of the USHL and went on to win the USHL Player of the Year award. That led to the Bruins signing Miller on Friday.
“I am not going to downplay that this has been a personal struggle as well as a professional struggle,” Boston general manager Don Sweeney said in a press conference, via Ty Anderson. However, Sweeney said he did not reach out to Meyer-Crothers’s family before making the move.
Additionally, Sweeney claims that the Bruins weren’t the only team to show interest in Miller, but he acknowledged the risk in bringing Miller into the organization.
“This decision could be wrong,” he said. “It invited a lot of negativity that we didn’t need or want.”
In a statement released by the team, Miller addressed the incident himself.
“When I was in eighth grade, I made an extremely poor decision and acted very immaturely,” Miller said. “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. I strive to be a better person and positively contribute to society.”
However, Joni Meyer-Crothers, Isaiah’s mother, said in 2020 that Miller didn’t apologize, and this year she said she didn’t think Miller’s attempted apology was genuine.
In the team statement, Bruins president Cam Neely set the team’s expectations for Miller.
“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,” he said. “The expectation is that he will continue this important educational work with personal development and community programs as a member of the Bruins organization.”
