Coyotes cut ties with Mitchell Miller, drafted despite conviction for bullying a Black classmate

GLENDALE, ARIZ.—The Arizona Coyotes renounced their rights Thursday to their top 2020 draft pick after saying they learned more about his bullying of a Black classmate with developmental disabilities four years ago.

The team parted ways with Mitchell Miller after criticism for selecting him in the fourth round earlier this month despite knowing of his 2016 assault conviction. The Coyotes acknowledged they knew about the incident when they selected Miller 111th overall.

“We do not condone this type of behaviour, but embraced this as a teachable moment to work with Mitchell to make him accountable for his actions and provide him with an opportunity to be a leader on anti-bullying and anti-racism efforts,” team president and CEO Xavier Gutierrez said. “We have learned more about the entire matter, and more importantly, the impact it has had on Isaiah and the Meyer-Crothers family. What we learned does not align with the core values and vision for our organization and leads to our decision to renounce our draft rights.”

Miller pleaded guilty at age 14 to one count of assault and one count of violation of the Ohio Safe Schools Act. He and another teenager were accused of making 14-year-old Isaiah Meyer-Crothers eat a candy push pop after wiping it in a bathroom urinal, and surveillance video showed them kicking and punching him.

Meyer-Crothers told the Arizona Republic that he was stunned and saddened when he found out the Coyotes had drafted Miller, who he said taunted him with racist language and repeatedly hit him when they were growing up in a suburb of Toledo.

“It hurt my heart to be honest,” Meyer-Crothers told the newspaper. “It’s stupid that (the Coyotes) didn’t go back and look what happened in the past, but I can’t do anything about it.”

Miller sent a letter to all 31 NHL teams acknowledging what happened and apologizing for his behaviour. Meyer-Crothers’s mother, Joni, said Miller never personally apologized to Isaiah or their family other than in a court-mandated letter.

New general manager Bill Armstrong, who was not allowed to participate in the draft as a condition of the Coyotes hiring him away from the St. Louis Blues, voiced support for Thursday’s decision.

“Mitchell is a good hockey player, but we need to do the right thing as an organization and not just as a hockey team,” Armstrong said. “I’d like to apologize to Isaiah and the Meyer-Crothers family for everything they have dealt with the past few months.”

The Coyotes didn’t have a draft pick until the fourth round because former GM John Chayka traded their first-rounder to New Jersey for winger Taylor Hall — now gone to Buffalo via free agency — and their third-rounder to Colorado for forward Carl Soderberg. Their second-rounder was forfeited for violating scouting combine policy. Arizona also was stripped of its 2021 first-round pick for breaking NHL rules by conducting its own physical testing of draft-eligible players.

Miller, an 18-year-old defenceman, becomes a free agent effective immediately.

“We are building a model franchise on and off the ice and will do the right thing for Isaiah and the Meyer-Crothers family, our fans and our partners,” said Gutierrez, who earlier this year became the first Latino CEO in the league. “Mr. Miller is now a free agent and can pursue his dream of becoming an NHL player elsewhere.”

The Coyotes said they and their charitable foundation will also look to partner with local organizations that combat bullying and racism.