BOSTON (WHDH) - The Bruins have cut defenseman Mitchell Miller less than three days after signing him because of new revelations that emerged in a years-old bullying case.
The team’s president, Cam Neely, spoke Monday after facing a weekend of backlash, telling fans and reporters that he took pride in the Bruins Organization and what it stands for, but that when it came to the Miller deal, “we failed there.”
The full news conference can be found below:
Over the weekend, the NHL deemed Miller ineligible to join the team and league.
In 2014, Miller was found guilty of bullying a Black, developmentally disabled classmate. A police report detailed how Miller called that classmate racist names and forced him to eat a piece of candy wiped inside of a urinal.
That child’s mother was appalled the Bruins signed him in the first place, saying, “when your son asks your pastor at the age of ten why God had to make him brown, that’s devastating.”
“It’s devastating as a parent,” said Joni Meyer-Crothers, whose son, Isaiah, had been the victim.
During a news conference Monday morning, Neely said, “I want to apologize to Isiah and his family. It’s something they shouldn’t continue to go through.”
He said the decision to rescind Miller’s contract came after new information emerged including the fact that no one from the Bruins talked with the victim’s family.
Neely did say he spoke with Miller before signing him.
“I felt that he was remorseful, I felt that he had changed. I felt that at that particular time, a second chance was warranted,” Neely said.
Neely added that he plans to reach out to the victim and his family.
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