‘He’s not eligible to come into the NHL’: Gary Bettman comments on Bruins signing Mitchell Miller
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National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman spoke in Finland at the NHL Global Series on Saturday and fielded a question from The Athletic‘s Aaron Portzline on the Boston Bruins signing renounced Arizona Coyotes draft pick Mitchell Miller.
Bettman said the Bruins did not consult with the NHL before signing Miller and added that the 20-year-old defenseman is not currently eligible to play in the league.
“What he did as a 14-year-old is reprehensible, unacceptable,” Bettman said. “Before the Bruins made the decision to sign him, we were not consulted. I happened to talk to Cam Neely since the time that he was signed. He’s not coming into the NHL. He’s not eligible, at this point, to come into the NHL. I can’t tell you that he’ll ever be eligible to come into the NHL.
“If, in fact, at some point, they think they want him to play in the NHL — and I’m not sure that they’re anywhere close to that point — we’re gonna have to clear him and his eligibility and it’ll be based on all the information we get firsthand at the time. So the answer is, they were free to sign him to play somewhere else, that’s another league’s issue. But nobody should think, at this point, he is or may ever be NHL-eligible.”
The Coyotes originally selected Miller in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Draft but ultimately forfeited the selection after allegations came to light that he repeatedly abused an intellectually disabled child in school — a pattern the victim’s mother described as “years and years and years of torture.”
Miller allegedly physically assaulted Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, directed racial slurs at him, and forced him to eat candy that had been inside a urinal.
Meyer-Crothers’ mother told a reporter on Friday that Miller recently attempted to apologize to her son in the form of a Snapchat direct message. In 2021, the Meyer-Crothers family said they had not received an apology from Miller.
Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said in a press conference on Friday he could not “categorically say” his team made the right call by signing Miller. He also admitted the team did not reach out to the victim’s family during their decision-making process.
Multiple Bruins players have commented on the Miller signing since it was announced.
“It was a tough thing to hear for our group,” Nick Foligno told reporters on Saturday. “I’m not going to lie to you. I don’t think any guy was too happy because of how proud we are to say that this is a group that cares a lot about ourselves and how we carry ourselves and how we treat people.”
“The culture we built here goes against that type of behavior,” Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron said. “We’re a team built with character and character people. What he did is unacceptable and we don’t stand by that. In this locker room, we are all about inclusion, diversity, respect.”
In the press release announcing his signing, the Bruins said Miller will report to their American Hockey League affiliate in Providence.
The AHL subsequently issued a comment to EP Rinkside‘s Sean Shapiro addressing the Miller situation: “Per our by-laws, any player under suspension to another league who seeks to play in the AHL would have the matter reviewed by the President to determine his eligibility.”