Defenceman Mitchell Miller faces BRUTAL rejection from Bruins after 2-days entry-level contract signing
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Cam Neely and Mitchell Miller
What seemed to be a new chance for Mitchell Miller to overcome his past deeds, toppled in being rejected by the team that signed him up three days ago. It was a brash decision for the Boston Bruins to sign up Miller even after predicting how their fan base would react. The Bruins carry pride in themselves, and how they are as a person. Miller’s sign-up was completely opposite to their ideal.
On Sunday, Bruins’ president, Cam Neely said, “We like to take pride in what we do in the community and how we hold ourselves accountable”. “We dropped the ball and I’m here to apologize for that.” Neely said that he believed in second chances. He wanted to offer a chance to the 20-year-old defenceman, but things went south quickly.
He commented, “I was under the impression as a 14-year-old kid, he made a really, really bad decision and did some horrible things”. “He’s 20 years old now, so I was under the impression that in the last six years, he’s done a lot of work on himself.”
“I’m extremely upset that we have made a lot of people unhappy with our decision”. “I take pride in the Bruins organization and what we stand for. We failed that.”
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NHL deemed Mitchell Miller not yet capable enough to step on its floor
It wasn’t only the fan base who were upset over the decision, the Bruins players were not so happy with the team signing in Miller. Miller got his rights renounced by the Arizona Coyotes after just 22 days after his NHL Draft selection. It was reported by the Arizona Republic that the 14-year-old was a participant in several racial bullying cases, with a special case student, Isaiah Meyer-Crothers.
The incident took place in 2016, and the defenceman got charged with assault and violation. On Sunday, the Bruins released a statement, stating, “Based on new information, we believe it is the best decision at this time to rescind the opportunity for Mitchell Miller to represent the Boston Bruins.” The new information is not yet revealed.
Bruins winger Nick Foligno commented, “It’s tough”. “It’s a really hard topic. First and foremost, the organization is not going to do something that would jeopardize that. But in saying that, it’s not something anyone in this room stands for. The culture we’ve built, and these guys have built before I got here, is one of inclusion. I think it goes against that.”
“I understand he was 14 when he made this mistake. But it’s hard for us to swallow because we take a lot of pride in here in the way we act, the way we carry ourselves, what it is to be a Bruin. So that was a tough thing to hear for our group.
“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 this is a group that cares a lot about ourselves, how we carry ourselves, and how we treat people. So that was, for a lot of guys, especially the ones that have been here, a tough pill to swallow.”
On Saturday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman commented on the Bruins signing, “What I understand and have heard through the media and anecdotally, what he did as a 14-year-old is reprehensible, unacceptable”. “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.”
The decision to pull out at the last moment was surely a tough one, and the actions faced some repulsions from both the team and the fans overall. It is a mixed result of everyone’s thoughts and reactions to the news. As team captain Patrice Bergeon stated, “I think it’s clear that I understand them,”.
“That being said, for us nothing has changed as far as who we are as individuals, as a person, as a culture in this locker room, what our core values are, really. As much as I understand them, we hear you. We also feel like our values remain the same.”
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Kaushani Chatterjee
(2175 Articles Published)