Arizona Coyotes Let Go of Draftee Convicted in Bullying Case
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NY Times Hockey
The Arizona Coyotes knew that the player, Mitchell Miller, had been convicted of abusing a Black classmate. The Arizona Coyotes said on Thursday that they had renounced the rights to their top pick in this year’s N.H.L. draft after a published report described the player’s 2016 conviction in a juvenile-court case related to bullying of a Black classmate who has a developmental disability. The Coyotes said they knew about the abusive history when they drafted the player, Mitchell Miller, an 18-year-old defenseman, in the fourth round, according to the report in The Arizona Republic, Miller, who is now a free agent, provided all 31 N.H.L. teams with a letter before the draft, saying he regretted what he had done and providing character references. The revelation about the bullying case and the Coyotes’ decision followed a season in which the N.H.L., a mostly white league, was forced to confront several acts of bigotry.
Miller and Meyer-Crothers knew each other growing up in Sylvania, Ohio, a suburb of Toledo along the state’s border with Michigan. The Republic said that a police report on the abuse stated that Miller, who was 14 at the time, and another student had forced Meyer-Crothers to eat candy that had been wiped in a bathroom urinal. The Republic said that, according to the police report, Meyer-Crothers had to be tested for hepatitis, H.I.V. and other sexually transmitted diseases, but the tests came back negative.
Gutierrez said the team had decided to cut ties with Miller after digging more deeply into the matter and learning about the effects of the bullying on Meyer-Crothers and his family.
Miller and Meyer-Crothers knew each other growing up in Sylvania, Ohio, a suburb of Toledo along the state’s border with Michigan. The Republic said that a police report on the abuse stated that Miller, who was 14 at the time, and another student had forced Meyer-Crothers to eat candy that had been wiped in a bathroom urinal. The Republic said that, according to the police report, Meyer-Crothers had to be tested for hepatitis, H.I.V. and other sexually transmitted diseases, but the tests came back negative.
Gutierrez said the team had decided to cut ties with Miller after digging more deeply into the matter and learning about the effects of the bullying on Meyer-Crothers and his family.