The Arizona Coyotes have waived the rights for Mitchell Miller, the team said on Thursday.
The move came after it was revealed earlier this week that Miller was charged with assault and violating the Ohio Safe Schools Act in February 2016 after he and another student, Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, a classmate who is black and admitted has a learning disability to have bullied.
“We have decided to surrender the rights to Mitchell Miller with immediate effect,” said Xavier Gutierrez, President & CEO of Coyotes, in a team statement released on Thursday. “Before we selected Mitchell in the NHL draft, we knew that there was an incident of bullying in 2016. We do not condone this type of behavior but have seen this as a teachable moment to work with Mitchell to hold him accountable for his actions and to provide him with the opportunity to be a leader in anti-bullying and anti-racism Efforts to be. We learned more about the whole matter and, most importantly, the impact it had on Isaiah and the Meyer-Crothers family. What we have learned does not align with the core values and vision of our organization and leads to our decision to forego our draft rights. On behalf of the Arizona Coyote property and our entire organization, I apologize to Isaiah and the Meyer-Crothers family. We’re building a model franchise on and off the ice and we’re going to do what’s right for Isaiah and the Meyer-Crothers family, our fans and our partners. Mr. Miller is now a free agent and can realize his dream of becoming an NHL player elsewhere. “
Bill Armstrong, General Manager of Coyotes, also made a statement:
“I fully support our decision to forego the Mitchell Miller’s draft rights,” said Armstrong. “It was a unique situation for me not to be able to participate in this year’s draft and we went through a transition with our scouting department. Mitchell is a good hockey player, but we have to do the right thing as an organization, not just as an ice hockey team. I want to apologize to Isaiah and the Meyer-Crothers family for everything they have done over the past few months. I wish you all the best for the future. “
As he noted, Armstrong was banned from leading the Coyotes’ draft this year due to an agreement with his previous club, the St. Louis Blues. The Coyotes selected Miller in the fourth round (111th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft.
The news of Mitchell’s conviction came first from the Republic of Arizona, whose article contained quotes from Meyer-Crothers and his mother Joni.
“Put yourself in our position. Would you agree?” Joni Meyer-Crothers said. “It’s a joke that a sports team, especially with everything that’s going on with Black Lives Matter, would do this.”
Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, who is now 18, said the republic that Miller had ridiculed him for years, calling him names like “Brownie” and using the “N-word” while beating him repeatedly. He said it “hurt my heart” when he saw the news that Miller had been drafted by the Coyotes.
In the days since the Republic’s report, the Hockey Diversity Alliance – a group founded earlier this year by former hockey players with a stated goal of eradicating systemic racism and intolerance in hockey – issued a statement calling out the NHL and urged the coyotes to act:
