Boston Bruins president Cam Neely reached out to Joni Meyer-Crothers, the mother of the teenager who was bullied by Mitchell Miller, to apologize for the team trying to sign Miller to an NHL contract last week.
According to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald, Meyer-Crothers said that Neely apologized to her and that the two parties had a “nice 45-minute conversation” about the situation.
The Bruins announced last Friday that they were signing Miller to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Miller, 20, was selected by the Arizona Coyotes in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Draft, but the team renounced the pick after it came to light that he had bullied an intellectually disabled Black classmate in middle school.
Two nights later, Neely issued a statement on behalf of the Bruins saying that “based on new information, we believe it is the best decision at this time to rescind the opportunity for Mitchell Miller to represent the Boston Bruins.”
Neely said during a press conference on Monday that the signing of Miller is his biggest regret “by far” as an executive in the NHL and that the organization failed in the vetting process ahead of the signing.
When asked about the signing on Sunday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Miller wasn’t only ineligible for the NHL now, but that “nobody should think, at this point, he is or may ever be NHL-eligible.”
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