Ryan: In signing a player with a past like Mitchell Miller, Bruins’ character-focused preachings ring hollow

There weren’t a lot of surprises during Don Sweeney’s Zoom conference on Friday afternoon - a departure from the initial shock when the Bruins first announced their latest signing earlier in the day.

There was little talk of Mitchell Miller’s gaudy numbers put forth in the USHL last season, his fit in this organization or any of the usual talking points that come when an organization adds young talent to the pipeline.

I mean, how could there be?

Because amid the maelstrom of the criticism that the Bruins have churned up for themselves, the only question that matters as it pertains to Mitchell Miller is simply: Why?

Because, frankly, no talent on the ice or points gained in the standings can absolve or account for Miller’s sordid past - a ledger that the Bruins were fully cognizant of when they opted to stamp his ticket up to professional hockey.

During Sweeney’s presser, there were a number of expected talking points preached.

There was the repeated declaration that Friday’s signing was a tough decision that took weeks to finally facilitate.

There was no absolution for Miller’s actions - not in the wake of his admitted assault, bullying, and racial abuse of a black, developmentally disabled classmate while Miller was in eighth grade. 

There was Sweeney’s blunt statement that Friday’s signing easily could have been the wrong one for the Bruins to make — not exactly the type of indecision that one wants to hear from a franchise.

And, of course, there was the theme of second chances and the repeated instances that Miller’s actions were committed when he was 14 years old.

“It invited a lot of negativity that, quite frankly, we didn’t need, didn’t want," Sweeney said. "Every time we got to the point where we were just walking away, walking away, we came back to: The young man was in the eighth grade, he was 14 years old, he has owned and will continue to own, he’s made his statement."

Sure, you could make the case that the actions committed at such an age shouldn’t prevent an individual from getting a second chance to redeem themselves.

But actions also need to have consequences. And given the nature of Miller’s crimes, it’s tough to find any justifiable reason behind Boston’s decision to add someone like Miller to the organization.

Well, beyond his talent on the ice.

And that’s both a sad and disgusting commentary on the game of hockey that whatever accolades achieved on the frozen sheet are valued more than being a decent human being. 

Because what Miller did to Isaiah Meyer-Crothers goes far beyond the already cowardly act of bullying.

Back in 2016, Miller pleaded guilty at age 14 to one count of assault and one count of violation of the Ohio Safe Schools Act - with him and another classmate accused of making Meyer-Crothers eat a candy he smeared into a bathroom urinal — while surveillance video showed them kicking and punching Meyer-Crothers.

In an in-depth investigation by The Arizona Republic back in 2020, Meyer-Carothers said that Miller routinely harassed him by calling him racial slurs while both grew up together in Sylvania, Ohio.

At the time of The Arizona Republic report, Meyer-Crothers’ mother, Joni, said that Miller never personally apologized to him or their family, other than a court-mandated letter.

And even though Sweeney said during his press conference that Miller had apologized to Meyer-Crothers in a process that began before the Bruins even started to target Miller as a signing — Guy Flaming of The Pipeline Show shared a social-media exchange with Joni Meyer-Crothers on Friday in which she said that Miller only apologized to her son last week on Instagram and that Miller’s abuse was a pattern that had gone on for years. 

And to make an already dreadful situation even worse, Sweeney said that they didn’t reach out to the Meyer-Crothers family directly during the process. 

Once that Arizona report was published, the Coyotes —  the team that drafted Miller in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Draft  — renounced his rights and he was quickly removed from the University of North Dakota hockey team.

Since then, Miller had yet to find a path up to the pros, at least until the Bruins eventually put pen to paper. As such, Boston is now the party that is voluntarily facilitating Miller’s second-chance arc.

"I don't think forgiveness is part of this,” Sweeney said. “Because if it had happened to one of my own children, I can't categorically say that I would have.” 

And it’s in instances like these, when a person like Miller and his actions are at the center of the discourse, that these “second-chance” arguments tend to collapse in on themselves due to some deeply flawed logic.

As we said before, actions do have consequences. And just because Miller could have the capacity to learn from his actions and redeem himself as respectable human being — it doesn’t also mean he should then be given the privilege to play professional hockey and live a lifestyle that few achieve, and millions dream of.

Yes, Miller’s numbers last season in the USHL were impressive — dominant, even. But given of the negative backlash and moral backstopping required to bring in such a player, this continues to look like a short-sighted and baffling move from the Bruins. 

Because beyond the rather obvious brushback that the Bruins have received online and from both their fans and the media, it does seem like the players in Boston’s own room were left scratching their heads at such a decision. 

“You can be assured that our leadership group was aware when we were considering this," Sweeney said of his discussion said. "Same reaction a lot of us had, like, ‘Why? Why would you necessarily invite this?’”

It’s a terrific question, one posed by players in a room that — for decades — cultivated a culture built upon mutual respect, regardless of one’s age, race or role. It was a room led by Zdeno Chara, who was hazed to such a degree while playing hockey in Europe, that he instituted a halt on any ribbing or pranks at the expense of “first-year players.”

It’s a room now anchored by Patrice Bergeron, who has continued to stress the importance of communication and mutual respect during his time at the helm of this team — helping the likes of Gemel Smith and others navigate the various highs and lows that come with the pressure of the profession. 

And now, all of that character-first proclamations — and all of those off-ice standards that seemed to have been drilled into the bedrock of this Original Six franchise —  ring a bit hollow.

Especially on a day in which the Bruins prioritized talent over simply doing the right thing. 

“I felt that if other teams were going to be willing to give — and I'm not gonna speak for other teams — if they were willing to give him the chance," Sweeney said, "I think we all have to look in the mirror and say, ‘Why wouldn't we be willing to give him a chance?’"

Well, here's why.

Because, frankly, the Bruins are better than this.

Or so we thought they were.