Former Arizona Coyotes draft pick Mitchell Miller has agreed to play for HK 32 Liptovský Mikuláš in the Slovak Extraliga. Here’s what you need to know:
Backstory
In 2016, Miller and another eighth-grader were convicted of bullying and abusing Isaiah Meyer-Crothers at a junior high school in Sylvania, Ohio, just outside Toledo.
The incident was described in detail in a police report obtained by The Athletic and first reported by The Arizona Republic. Miller and a classmate, Hunter R. McKie, rubbed a candy push-pop inside a urinal at the school during a girls basketball game and enticed Meyer-Crothers to put it in his mouth, nearly falling over with laughter when he did.
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Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, victim of Mitchell Miller, speaks out
Both Miller and McKie were punished by the school with suspensions; Miller’s punishment was greater, per the report, because he lied repeatedly to school administrators, who confirmed the reports of other students by using the school’s security cameras.
Joni Meyer-Crothers, a foster mother to 57 kids over the last 10 years, said the abuse by Miller started in second grade and involved repeated racial slurs, such as calling her son a “n—–” and telling him to “go pick cotton,” among other racist comments.
Miller’s past was not a secret — it was reported on at the time by the Toledo Blade — and it quickly surfaced when NHL teams did even rudimentary background checks before the draft. At least 10 NHL clubs took Miller off their 2020 draft lists, and Miller provided all 31 teams with a letter of apology while a freshman at the University of North Dakota. Miller was selected by the Coyotes in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Draft but had his draft status revoked by the team after it was revealed he had been convicted in juvenile court of bullying.
In a statement to Azcentral.com, the Coyotes acknowledged they knew of Miller’s past before drafting him. But, they added, being at the forefront of diversity initiatives comes with the responsibility of helping players like Mitchell.
“When we first learned of Mitchell’s story, it would have been easy for us to dismiss him — many teams did,” the club statement read. “Instead, we felt it was our responsibility to be a part of the solution in a real way — not just saying and doing the right things ourselves but ensuring that others are too.”
Miller’s letter of apology, obtained by The Athletic, consisted of two lengthy paragraphs that painted his juvenile conviction as a life-changing event. It also included “character references” from several hockey coaches and his USHL billet family.
Two years later, the Bruins signed Miller to an entry-level contract, despite the controversy surrounding the defenseman. Off the ice, the team believed Miller had matured.
“From everything I heard, he was working on himself, working in programs to better himself,” Bruins president Cam Neely said.
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Bruins’ Mitchell Miller signing ‘stunned’ bullying victim’s family — mother says son ‘not doing well’ after the news
Amid public outrage over the signing, Bruins left winger Nick Foligno said it is “hard for us to swallow,” with captain Patrice Bergeron adding that “the culture we built here goes against that type of behavior.”
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman called Miller’s actions as a 14-year-old “reprehensible” and said the Bruins did not consult the league before signing Miller.
Neely and the Bruins rescinded its offer to Miller “based on new information” and offered an apology to the Meyer-Crothers family.
Required reading
(Photo: Codie McLachlan/The Canadian Press via AP)
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