Bettman on Bruins signing Mitchell Miller: ‘He’s not eligible at this point’

Gary Bettman said the Boston Bruins were free to sign Mitchell Miller, but the NHL commissioner stressed the defenceman is ineligible to play until he receives clearance from the league.

The Bruins signed Miller, the renounced Arizona Coyotes draft pick who assaulted, bullied and abused a Black classmate with a learning disability, to an entry-level contract Friday.

Bettman believes what Miller did was “reprehensible, unacceptable” and although he was not consulted by the Bruins prior to the signing, he said he has spoken to team president Cam Neely since then.

“He’s not coming into the NHL,” Bettman said Saturday during a press conference in Finland for the Global Series. “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 they’re anywhere close to that point — we’re going to have to clear him and his eligibility. It will be based on all the information that we get first-hand 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 … and the Bruins understand that.”

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Miller, 20, was charged with assault and a violation of the Ohio Safe Schools Act in February 2016 after he and another student admitted to bullying Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, a Black classmate with a learning disability. Part of that bullying included wiping a piece of candy in a urinal and then tricking Meyer-Crothers into consuming it.

Meyer-Crothers told the Arizona Republic in October 2020 that Miller taunted him for years growing up and called him names like “brownie” and used the “N-word” while repeatedly hitting him. He said it “hurt my heart” when he learned Miller had been drafted by the Coyotes earlier that year in the fourth round, 111th overall.

After the story was published, the Coyotes renounced the rights to Miller, and the University of North Dakota dropped him from its program. The Sylvania, Ohio, native did not play hockey during the 2020-21 season and rejoined the USHL’s Tri-City Storm last year.

Neely said in a statement, during an evaluation period, Miller was “accountable for his unacceptable behaviour and demonstrated his commitment to work with multiple organizations and professionals to further his education and use his mistake as a teachable moment for others.”

He added: “The expectation is that he will continue this important educational work with personal development and community programs as a member of the Bruins organization.”

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Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron admitted he was “on the fence” about the signing.

“I think as a person but also as a team, we stand for integrity, inclusion and diversity obviously,” Bergeron told Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. “That was the first thing that came out of my mouth was, ‘It goes against a little of what we are as a culture and as a team and for me as a person.’”

Bergeron added: “For me, I think the work is on him.”

Miller addressed the past incidents in a statement of his own released by the Bruins, pledging to use this opportunity to “speak out against mistreating others.”

“When I was in eighth grade, I made an extremely poor decision and acted very immaturely,” Miller said. “I bullied one of my classmates. I deeply regret the incident and have apologized to the individual. Since the incident, I have come to better understand the far-reaching consequences of my actions that I failed to recognize and understand nearly seven years ago.

“I strive to be a better person and positively contribute to society. As a member of the Bruins organization, I will continue to participate in community programs to both educate myself and share my mistakes with others to show what a negative impact those actions can have on others.”

Miller will report to the Bruins’ AHL farm team in Providence.

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