Mitchell Miller Signs Bruins Contract After Coyotes Renounced Rights over Bullying

The Boston Bruins have signed Mitchell Miller two years after the Arizona Coyotes renounced his draft rights as a result of his history of bullying and racism as a juvenile was brought to light.

Bruins general manager Don Sweeney announced Friday that Miller has signed an entry-level contract with the team

Boston president Cam Neely said in the announcement Miller had an evaluation period with the team's hockey operations and community operations departments in which he 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."

Miller was selected in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL draft by the Coyotes.

Three weeks after the draft, Craig Harris and José M. Romero of the Arizona Republic published a story about Miller in which he admitted in Ohio juvenile court to bullying a Black classmate with developmental disabilities as a high schooler in 2016.

Miller and a classmate were charged with assault and violating the Ohio Safe Schools Act after being accused of making Isaiah Meyer-Crothers eat a piece of candy they wiped in a bathroom urinal.

Speaking to Harris and Romero over the phone, Meyers-Crothers said Miller also called him "brownie" and the "N-word" and hit him.

In a police report obtained by Harris and Romero, some accounts of the incident said Miller and the classmate urinated on the candy before giving it to Meyer-Crothers. Other students at the school confirmed to police Miller used the N-word referring to Meyer-Crothers.

Miller and the other boy involved were sentenced to complete 25 hours of community service, write an apology through the court system to Meyer-Crothers, participate in counseling and pay court costs.

"He pretended to be my friend and made me do things I didn't want to do," Meyer-Crothers told Harris and Romero. "In junior high, I got beat up by him. … Everyone thinks he's so cool that he gets to go to the NHL, but I don't see how someone can be cool when you pick on someone and bully someone your entire life."

Joni Meyer-Crothers, Isaiah's mother, told Harris and Romero that Miller has never personally apologized to her son outside of the court-mandated letter.

Coyotes president and CEO Xavier Gutierrez announced they renounced Miller's rights on Oct. 29, 2020.

Miller, 20, has spent the past two seasons playing for the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League.