Days after the Bruins announced it was signing Mitch Miller, prompting public backlash, the team rescinded its offer.
Bruins President Cameron Neely said he had known for months about the team's interest in signing Miller, who as a teenager abused a Black peer with developmental disabilities, but that the team thought Miller "deserved a second chance" and that educational programs would make his signing palatable.
“We said, 'If we’re gonna do this, we’re gonna make sure he’s in the right programs, that [he] understands the values that we have with diversity and inclusion,” Neely said at a press conference Monday at the Warriors Arena in Boston. He added that team leadership met with the community relations group and the foundation “so all those things were getting put in place for programs for him to get involved with.”
Neely’s statements came the morning after the team let Miller go, less than 72 hours after signing him.
According to a 2020 report from the Arizona Republic, Miller admitted six years ago in juvenile court in Ohio that he had harassed Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, including tricking him into eating candy that had been wiped in a urinal. Meyer-Crothers said when the two were in school together, Miller routinely hit him and used racist taunts. Meyer-Crothers told the Arizona outlet that it "hurt his heart" when Miller was signed by the Arizona Coyotes. Meyer-Crothers' mother also told the news organization that the Coyotes did not reach out to their family before signing Miller.
Miller was originally drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, but the team eventually dropped him and gave up his rights, making him eligible to get picked up by another NHL team.
The Bruins quietly signed Miller on Friday. In a statement at the time, Neely said that "representing the Boston Bruins is a privilege we take seriously as an organization."
"Prior to signing Mitchell, our Hockey Operations and Community Relations groups spent time with him over the last few weeks to better understand who he is as an individual and learn more about a significant mistake he made when he was in middle school," Neely said in the Friday statement. "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. The expectation is that he will continue this important educational work with personal development and community programs as a member of the Bruins organization."
In the same statement, Miller said he deeply regrets his actions and has apologized to Meyer-Crothers.
"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 and unacceptable," Miller said in the statement. "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."
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron had expressed concerns about the hiring of Miller.
"Truthfully, hopefully there's some growth and change," he said. "If it's the same 14-year-old that would be walking into this locker room, he wouldn't be accepted and wanted and welcomed in this locker room, to be honest with you. So that's kind of my stand on it."
Also on Saturday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman had said that Miller is not eligible to play in the NHL at this point and that he's can't say if he'll ever be eligible for NHL play.
