The Arizona Coyotes say they will work with potential Mitchell Miller to “Fight Bullying and Racism” after reports surfaced that their top 2020 picks were convicted of bullying a black classmate with developmental disabilities four years ago.
According to a story published Monday by Craig Harris and Jose M. Romero of the Republic of Arizona, Miller and another teenager were charged with assault and violating the Ohio Safe Schools Act in 2016 after being charged with Isaiah Meyer-Crothers tricked into eating candy was in a urinal.
A police report received from the Republic states that Miller and the other teenager pushed and punched 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 drafted Miller, the team provided a statement from team president and CEO Xavier Gutierrez stating that they knew about the incident prior to drafting him knew and work with him.
“We are ready to work with Mitchell, to invest the time, effort and energy, and to provide him with the necessary resources and platforms to combat bullying and racism,” Gutierrez said in the Republican statement. 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 the severity of my actions or how they can affect other people. I have apologized to my family for my behavior, completed cultural diversity and sensitivity training, and volunteered in my community with organizations like Little Miracles. I’ve had plenty of time to think and grow over the past four years, and I’m very grateful to the Arizona Coyotes for taking a risk for me. I promise not to let you down. In the future, I want to be a leader in this matter 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.
“You are not part of the solution. They are part of the problem and fuel the Black Lives Matter. “
Files from azcentral.com (Republic of Arizona) were used for this report.
