The Hockey Diversity Alliance issued a statement to the NHL and the Arizona Coyotes earlier this month in which they decided to convict Mitchell Miller, a player convicted four years ago of assaulting a black teenage girl with disabilities.
The Coyotes say they will “partner with the prospective Miller” to fight bullying and racism after reports surfaced that their top 2020 picks were convicted of bullying a black classmate with developmental disabilities in 2016.
“Mitchell Miller’s draft of the coyotes, convicted of bullying a developmentally disabled black classmate and who, according to the victim’s family, did not personally apologize, shows that ‘zero tolerance’ towards racism is not something that can be taken for granted in the NHL and the coyotes should sign the HDA pledge and start practicing what they preach, “the HDA statement said.
The statement referred to item 6 of the HDA pledge calling on the NHL to agree that “we do not endorse, work with, or accept support from any organization that has engaged in racist behavior within their organization, promotes or inappropriately responds to it in any way (including, without limitation, the spread of hate speech, discrimination in the provision of goods, services and facilities, and other areas such as employment).
Miller and another teenager were charged with assault and violating the Ohio Safe Schools Act in 2016 after they were accused of tricking Isaiah Meyer-Crothers into eating candy found in a urinal.
An Arizona police report said Miller and the other teenager pushed and beaten Meyer-Crothers and that Miller lied to school officials about his involvement.
Meyer-Crothers says Miller mocked him with racial slurs for years, called him “Brownie” and the “N-word”, and hit him repeatedly. “It hurt my heart, to be honest,” he told the Republic after learning that Miller had been drafted. “It’s stupid they (coyotes) didn’t go back and see what happened in the past, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Miller and the other teenager were sentenced to 25 hours of community service and asked to apologize through the Meyer-Crothers court system, attend the counseling, and pay the court fees.
The Coyotes selected Miller in the fourth round (111th total) of the draft on October 7th.
According to The Republic, instead of providing senior management to comment on why they designed Miller, the team provided a statement from team president and CEO Xavier Gutierrez stating that they knew about the incident before they saw it designed and collaborated with him.
“Our fundamental mission is to ensure a safe environment – be it in schools, in our community, on hockey fields or in the workplace – to be free from bullying and racism,” Gutierrez said in the statement of the republic. “When we first learned about Mitchell’s story, it would have been easy for us to fire him – many teams did. Instead, we felt that it was our responsibility to be part of the solution in a real way – not just saying that and doing the right things yourself, but making sure others are too.
“Given our diversity and inclusion priorities, we believe we are in the best position to lead Mitchell to lead this cause and prevent bullying and racism now and in the future. As an organization, we have our expectations made very clear. We are ready to work with Mitchell, to invest the time, effort and energy in providing him with the necessary resources and platforms to combat bullying and racism. This is not a story of excuses or justifications. It is a story on reflection, growth, and community impact. A true leader finds ways for everyone to contribute to the solution. We must all be part of the solution. “
Gutierrez was named the Coyotes’ new President and CEO in June and last month was also appointed to the NHL’s Executive Inclusion Council, a committee set up to end racism and promote diversity in the game.
Coyote’s GM Bill Armstrong added that Miller, who is now attending the University of North Dakota, sent a letter to every NHL team confirming what happened and apologizing for it.
The Coyotes also sent out a statement from Miller on Friday.
“I am very sorry about the bullying incident in 2016 when I was in eighth grade,” said the republic’s statement. “I was young, immature, and felt terrible about my actions.
“At the time, I didn’t understand how serious my actions are or how they could affect other people. I apologized to my family for my behavior, completed diversity and sensitivity training, and volunteered in my community reported as Little Miracle. Over the past four years I have had plenty of time to think and grow and I am very grateful to the Arizona Coyotes for taking a risk for me, I promise not to let you down a guide on this cause and help end bullying and racism. “
The University of North Dakota has also confirmed they knew about the incident, as did USA Hockey and the USHL’s Tri-City Storm, which Miller played in last season.
Meyer-Crothers’ mother, Joni, told the Republic that, apart from the letter ordered by the court, Miller had neither personally apologized to her son nor the coyotes contacted her family.
“What they (coyotes) say is what Mitchell did to him didn’t matter,” she told the paper. “You owe our son an apology.
“They are not part of the solution. They are part of the problem and they fuel the Black Lives Matter.”
Files from azcentral.com (Republic of Arizona) were used for this report.
