Coyotes Prospect Was Convicted of Bullying Classmate With Disabilities

The Arizona Coyotes have been under a ton of scrutiny of late, as the team was handed down some discipline from the NHL for a draft combine scandal that led to multiple draft picks being taken away. As the team tries to attempt to move on from the matter, their first-selection in the fourth round of the 2020 draft, has certainly raised some eye brows.

The Coyotes used their 4th-round pick to select Mitchell Miller, a freshman from North Dakota. It turns out Miller has a bit of a checkered past, being convicted of bullying an African-american classmate, who has disabilities. 

Here's more from the AZ Central:

The Arizona Coyotes last month boasted about having their chief executive selected to an elite National Hockey League committee that pledged to stop racism, but the team then spent its first draft pick on an 18-year-old who has admitted to bullying an African American classmate with developmental disabilities. Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, the Black student, told The Arizona Republic that he was stunned and saddened when he learned the Coyotes earlier this month had selected Mitchell Miller, whom he grew up with in Sylvania, Ohio. Four years ago, Miller admitted in an Ohio juvenile court to bullying Meyer-Crothers, who was tricked into licking a candy push pop that Miller and another boy had wiped in a bathroom urinal. Meyer-Crothers had to be tested for hepatitis, HIV and STDs, but the tests came back negative, according to a police report. Meyer-Crothers, also 18 and who now lives in Detroit, said Miller had taunted him for years, constantly calling him "brownie" and the "N-word," while repeatedly hitting him while growing up in the Toledo suburb. Other students at their junior high confirmed to police that Miller repeatedly used the "N-word" in referring to Meyer-Crothers.

The Coyotes stand behind their selection, and hope to be able to show that given second chances, humans can develop and learn from their mistakes. For the complete story, click here.  

Photo credit:  Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire

Coyotes CEO Xavier Gutierrez: "When we 1st learned of Mitchell Miller’s story it would have been easy to dismiss him, many teams did. We felt it was our responsibility to be part of the solution, not just saying/doing the right things ourselves but ensuring others are too" #Yotes

— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) October 26, 2020