Bettman apologizes to the family of Isaiah Miller, the 14-year-old who stabbed a black boy into eating candy
On Saturday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the Bruins did not consult the league before signing Miller, calling what Miller did as a 14-year-old “reprehensible” and “unacceptable.”
The Arizona Republic reported on the case of Miller and another teenager who were found guilty of tricking a black boy into eating candy placed in a urinal.
In explaining the decision to sign the now 20-year-old Miller in the first place, Boston Bruins president Cam Neely said the team had carefully considered the facts as they were aware of them, “that at 14-years-old he made a poor decision that led to a juvenile conviction.”
He was committed to ongoing personal development and was committed to taking meaningful action in the wake of this isolated incident. According to the understanding that we had, we offered him a contract.
After new information came to light, the team decided it was in its best interest to rescind the opportunity. The team’s statement did not detail that information.
Neely apologized to the members of the organization, fans, partners and the community for signing with the team, as well as the family of the player.
“To Isaiah and his family, my deepest apologies if this signing made you and other victims feel unseen and unheard,” he said. We apologize for the impact that we have caused.
There is a lesson to be learned for other young people as a father. The group mentality of hurting others should be avoided and careless behaviors kept to a minimum. The repercussions can be felt for a lifetime.”
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He will not be playing in the NHL. He’s not eligible at this point to come into the NHL. Bettman was speaking at the NHL Global Series in Tampere, Finland when he said he couldn’t reveal that he would be eligible to enter the NHL.
“I deeply regret the incident and have apologized to the individual. He said that he has come to understand the far-reaching consequences of his actions since the incident. “To be clear, what I did when I was 14 years old was wrong and unacceptable. I pledge to speak out against disrespectful behavior towards others, because there is no place for it in this world.
At a news conference Monday, Neely said he was upset that people were unhappy with the decision. I take pride in the Bruins organization, and we failed there.
The decision to take on Mitchell Miller as a client was not lightly made, said Eustace King, Miller’s agent.
“As one of the very few Black NHL agents in the league, a member of the NHL’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and as a Black man who has spent his entire life in hockey, I understand the gravity of the situation and respect the fierce emotions and reactions to the initial reporting and commentary around Mr. Miller’s past behavior.
O2K Sports Management would not have agreed to represent Mitchell without months of research, deliberation, introspection within our organization, and conversations with outside advisors.
“Moreover, when deliberating whether to represent Mitchell, we learned throughout the last six years, Mitchell has been volunteering with organizations such as: Spread the Word Campaign, Little Miracles, Adaptive Sports of Ohio, Gliding Stars.”
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There was new information that prompted Miller to be let go. When asked Monday what the new information was, Neely said: “The fact we didn’t talk to the family was concerning to me.”
When asked why the organization didn’t reach out to the family before the signing, Neely responded: “It’s a great question. I need to find out something.
“I do believe in second chances but maybe some don’t deserve it. I do believe in second chances, but I am not saying it in this situation.
He was working to better himself while he was in the programs. “I was under the impression it was a 14-year-old kid who made a really, really bad decision and did some horrible things, and he’s 20 years old now. I was under the impression that he’d worked on himself a lot in the last six years.
But critics of Miller, who is now 20, say he hasn’t done enough to show remorse for his actions or to prove he’s now a changed person. His victim has described systemic abuse that went on for years.
The controversy has raised questions about NHL teams’ vetting processes, as well as a culture around elite youth athletics that can allow bullies to avoid being held accountable.
It’s the second time Miller’s path to the NHL has been abruptly blocked. The Arizona Coyotes drafted the Ohio native in 2020, but the team renounced its rights to him days later, after Miller’s former classmate, Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, spoke out about suffering years of abuse at Miller’s hands that culminated in a juvenile court case.
“He pretended to be my friend and made me do things I didn’t want to do,” Meyer-Crothers told the Arizona Republic at the time, describing growing up alongside Miller in their hometown outside of Toledo.
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The two boys charged with assault and violating the OH Safe Schools act were ordered to perform 25 hours of community service, write letters of apology, pay court costs, and undergo counseling, the Republic reported.
“Our prayer is for Mitchell to get help and understand the magnitude of what he has done for years to Isaiah and for this to heal from the trauma,” said Meyer-Crothers’ mother. Both boys need healing.
Joni Meyer-Crothers has said that while the other boy in the bathroom ordeal personally apologized to her son, Miller never did so, other than writing a court-mandated letter. She says that Miller initially lied about his role in the assault, admitting to his role only to prevent the video from being released.
Last fall, Isaiah’s father, Jamie Crothers, wrote an open letter to Miller, accusing him of using his status as an emerging hockey star to carry out years of abuse. The family placed their adopted son in another school to help him avoid bullying, Crothers wrote, but he alleged that the incidents resumed when he and Miller later went to the same middle school.
Miller’s talent isn’t in question. In May, he was named the USHL’s player of the year with 39 goals in 60 games for the Tri-City Storm — a record for defensemen in the junior league’s top level.
Miller was brought back to the Storm by the team because it had faith in his character, according to the president of hockey operations.
“We believe in this kid,” Noreen in a video recalled telling the USHL, saying he has known Miller for years. He said the team made a plan for Miller to develop off the ice.
The team signed Miller because they believed he had reformed after a “isolated incident” in which he had grown up.
Miller said he has gained a better understanding of the consequences of being harassed as of late. He pledges to work in community programs to educate himself and others.
It was good for her son, Meyer-Crothers told NPR, to hear Bruins standouts such as captain Patrice Bergeron, alternate captain Brad Marchand and forward Nick Foligno condemn Miller’s past behavior as they discussed the controversial signing over the weekend.
“In this locker room we are all about respect, inclusion, and diversity,” he said. “We expect guys to wear this jersey to be high-character people with integrity and respect. They should be acting that way.
“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,” Bergeron said.
“Isaiah would like to thank Bergeron, Foligno, and Marchand for their statements on Saturday,” Meyer-Crothers told NPR, adding that their words “gave him some peace.”
Meyer-CRS said that he’s struggling daily at the age of 20. He is currently living in Detroit and would love to become a barber, she said.