Joni Meyer-Crothers considered writing a letter and sending it to all 31 teams in the weeks leading up to this year’s NHL Draft. Meyers-Crothers, a foster mother to 57 kids over the last seven years, wanted the league’s general managers and scouting directors to know what Mitchell Miller, a highly rated defenseman, had done to her adopted son, Isaiah.
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In 2016, Miller and another eighth-grader were convicted in an Ohio juvenile court of bullying and abusing Isaiah, a Black, developmentally disabled classmate at a junior high school in Sylvania, Ohio, just outside Toledo.
The incident, described in detail in a police report obtained by The Athletic and first reported by The Arizona Republic, is difficult to read. The worst of it: Miller and a classmate, Hunter R. McKie, rubbed a candy push-pop inside a urinal at the school during a girls basketball game and enticed Isaiah Meyer-Crothers to put it in his mouth, nearly falling over with laughter when he did.
Both Miller and McKie were punished by the school with suspensions; Miller’s punishment was greater, per the report, because he lied repeatedly to school administrators, who confirmed the reports of other students by using the school’s security cameras.
Meyer-Crothers said the abuse by Miller started in second grade and involved repeated racial slurs, such as calling her son a “n—–” and by telling him to “go pick cotton,” among other racist comments.
Miller’s past was not a secret — it was reported on at the time by the Toledo Blade — and it quickly surfaced when NHL teams did even rudimentary background checks before the draft. At least 10 NHL clubs took Miller off their draft lists.
Hoping to fend off a tumble down the draft board, Miller, now a freshman at the University of North Dakota, provided all 31 teams with a letter of apology, saying he had “extreme regret” for the incidents and that he had changed. He also included “character references” from several hockey coaches and his USHL billet family.
The letter, obtained by The Athletic, consisted of two lengthy paragraphs that painted his juvenile conviction as a life-changing event. There have been no further incidents, Miller said, adding that he’d had counseling, attended cultural diversity classes and had volunteered with physically disabled children.
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“My family, coaches, friends, and teammates have helped me to mature and become someone who is not defined by this mistake, but has accepted it and now make (sic) choices to be a better person than I was when I was a kid,” the letter read. “I’m a different person than I was four years ago and I am thankful to have learned a very painful and valuable lesson.”
But it didn’t convince some clubs. Others arranged Zoom calls with Miller that left them feeling unconvinced of his remorse.
“Based on hockey alone, he’s a player that 31 teams would have drafted,” one executive told The Athletic. “We just decided we weren’t going to draft him. It wasn’t worth it on so many fronts. It was an easy decision for us, based on what we know.”
At least as late as June, the Arizona Coyotes appeared to do the same.
In a June draft meeting with Coyotes scouts and front office staff, Miller was removed from the team’s prospect draft list after concerns were raised about inconsistencies that surfaced when Miller explained this incident, according to multiple people involved in the meeting.
The NHL Draft is usually held in June, but it was delayed until October this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, the Coyotes’ plans changed dramatically, as did their front office.
John Chayka resigned as GM in late July and replaced by interim GM Steve Sullivan. On Sept. 16, three weeks before the draft, Bill Armstrong, previously with the St. Louis Blues, was named Coyotes GM.
It’s unclear how the Blues viewed drafting Miller. As part of his agreement in joining the Coyotes, Armstrong was prevented from taking part in their draft process.
But at some point, Miller was back under consideration for the Coyotes, and with their first selection in this year’s draft — a fourth-round pick, No. 111 overall — they picked Miller. Ryan Jankowski, Arizona’s director of amateur scouting, ran the draft. The Coyotes made the selection. According to NHL sources, Miller was not on Buffalo’s draft list when Jankowski was acting in his role as director of amateur scouting with the team.
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The Coyotes organization has framed itself as being at the vanguard of the NHL’s diversity initiatives. Alex Meruelo is the league’s first Latino owner. President and CEO Xavier Gutierrez is the first Latino to occupy that role in the league, and he’s a member of the NHL’s executive inclusion council.
In a statement to Azcentral.com, the Coyotes acknowledged they knew of Miller’s past before drafting him. But, they added, being at the forefront of diversity initiatives comes with the responsibility of helping players like Mitchell.
“When we first learned of Mitchell’s story, it would have been easy for us to dismiss him — many teams did,” the club statement read. “Instead, we felt it was our responsibility to be a part of the solution in a real way — not just saying and doing the right things ourselves but ensuring that others are too.”
Joni Meyer-Crothers was furious when the Coyotes drafted Miller. No NHL teams contacted her in their background checks into Miller’s character, she said.
The letter she considered writing to all teams before the draft — she never sent it, she said, believing that Miller wouldn’t be drafted — was distilled into a scathing note sent directly to the Coyotes in the days after the draft. (They have not responded, she said.)
Hello – I’m the mother of the boy that Mitchell Miller bullied. I read the statements made by the GM (Bill Armstrong) etc. and find them demeaning to our son. Are you aware Mitchell NEVER apologized to our son? Are you aware two years ago he still taunted him? Are you aware this went on for years? Do you understand the mental damage Mitchell did to our son?
I respect you stating he sent all the NHL teams an apology, but wouldn’t it make sense if he was truly remorseful to send a letter to the kid that he brutally bullied both mentally and physically? Is it a surprise he sent all the NHL teams a letter because this was for his betterment?
I guess as an organization and NHL team I would expect so much more and hold them to a higher standard, especially with all the (Black Lives Matter) movement. As much as we pray Mitchell will eventually see the damage he did to our son, we have seen no remorse. The other gentleman had a sincere apology to our son and our son forgave him. The magistrate said it best: “Mitchell, I don’t think you are remorseful for what you did more than you are upset for the negative attention you are getting.”
Again, the bully incident that continued over years has damaged our son mentally significantly and your organization is more concerned about Mitchell and your hockey success. In my opinion, that is being part of the problem. There is a victim out there that was and still at the hands of your 111th pick.
Best, Joni
Most of the children Meyer-Crothers has fostered have developmental disabilities, she said. The Meyer-Crothers family adopted Isaiah when he was 2.
Isaiah was deemed to have the mental capacity of a 10-year-old old when he was in eighth grade, Meyer-Crothers told The Athletic. His favorite game? Hide-and-seek.
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Meyer-Crothers told police that Miller’s abuse dated back to second grade, but that Isaiah continued to associate with Miller and McKie because they were popular and he wanted desperately to fit in.
The incident in 2016, however, made Meyer-Crothers believe that the severity of the abuse “was escalating,” and she feared what Miller and McKie might do next, according to the Sylvania police report.
When school administrators first confronted Miller and McKie about physically abusing Isaiah, “the boys laughed and appeared to think the events were amusing,” according to the police report. The school’s assistant principal, Susan Felver, doubled their punishments and added a two-hour detention for each.
The following day, after a teacher reported that Isaiah was upset, Felver checked around learned about the incident with the candy and the toilet, and decided to involve the Sylvania police department. Police watched the school’s security footage with members of the school’s administration to corroborate reports from several students who witnessed the incident.
One camera caught the boys walking into the bathroom with the candy in hand. Another captured them returning to the gym and climbing into the stands with the soiled candy. Yet another captured McKie motioning Isaiah toward them and Miller handing him the candy.
“It was clear this was a ‘team effort’ by Miller and McKie to convince Isaiah to like the push pop,” the police report reads. “Miller and McKie started laughing and nearly fell down as they laughed. They were very animated in their actions.
“Isaiah went to the side of the bleachers and it looked like he threw the push pop out and spit. He then used his shirt … to wipe his mouth out. He then started walking toward McKie and McKie started to run away. As Isaiah started chasing McKie, Miller came out of the stands and punched Isaiah in the arm as he was looking the other way.”
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The fight continued off-camera — McKie and Miller vs. Isaiah — while at least two students ran to get help. Isaiah lost the fight and left the game early, one student told police. He was visibly upset.
Meyer-Crothers has said that she has a video footage of the fight, which shows McKie and Miller “bashing Isaiah’s head into the wall.” But she’s resisted releasing it, because she fears it would embarrass Isaiah.
She contends that the racist slurs from Miller were constant. Case in point: Earlier that night, as students were waiting to go into the school for the game, Isaiah asked another student for a sip of his slushie drink, per the police report.
Miller intervened, saying “Nobody wants your n—– lips on his slushie.”
The court sentenced both Miller and McKie to 25 hours of community service with special-needs kids, along with the requirement that they participate in counseling and write a letter of apology to the Meyer-Crothers family and the school.
But along with the sentencing came an unusual admonition from juvenile magistrate William Hutcheson:
“Mitchell, I’m not sure you still get it,” Hutcheson said, according to courtroom reports from the Toledo Blade. “I don’t think you like being where you are. But I still don’t think you’ve put yourself in the shoes of not just the one victim but numerous victims. No one should come to school and feel humiliated or intimidated.
“If this is what you do in school, I wonder what you do outside of school? You’re supposed to be on your best behavior in school. So if this is an example of your best behavior, I wonder what your worst behavior is. I don’t have a sense of real remorse. But I do feel that you feel sorry for yourself.”
Miller provided a copy of his apology to each of the 31 NHL teams with his letter earlier this year.
One problem: Meyer-Crothers said the family has never received an apology from Miller, handwritten or otherwise.
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“You would think if he were truly remorseful, that the apology would be sent to the person whose life he affected, not just the NHL teams,” Meyer-Crothers said. “We never received it. Never saw it.”
Meyer-Crothers also told The Athletic that, while Miller was ordered to stay away from Isaiah, he would often roller-blade past their house.
The emotional distress has been withering, she said. It’s upsetting for Isaiah every time he sees or hears Miller’s name, and it was hard to avoid the news on social media when he was drafted.
This story will do nothing to quash concerns that the NHL has a problem with racism. Akim Aliu, who suffered racial abuse as a young player in the Chicago Blackhawks organization, has helped spearhead an effort for more awareness and greater outreach to minority players.
Aliu read AZCentral’s initial reporting of this story.
“Y’all read this and tell me hockey doesn’t have major problems,” Aliu tweeted on Monday. “No one else will say it but I will. A Black, or player of color would NEVER get a pass or be forgiven for something like this. EVER!”
Miller initially committed to Miami University but changed his commitment to North Dakota later in the process. He played two full seasons in the USHL before heading to Grand Forks as a freshman this fall.
North Dakota knew of Miller’s juvenile conviction, they said in a statement to Grand Forks Herald on Monday.
“We were aware of an unfortunate incident that occurred with Mitchell in eighth grade,” the statement read. “We made a decision that our program could provide him the necessary infrastructure and culture to hone not only his hockey abilities but, most importantly, assist him in his continuing growth as a human being, which will last him the remainder of his life.”
At this point, the Coyotes only own Miller’s NHL rights. He’s not under contract with the club, and can’t be signed — per NCAA rules — as long as he’s playing at North Dakota.
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But they say they are sticking by their prospect, vowing to work with him and alongside him to exact change.
“Given our priorities on diversity and inclusion, we believe that we are in the best position to guide Mitchell into becoming a leader for this cause and preventing bullying and racism now and in the future,” the Coyotes said in a statement.
“As an organization, we have made our expectations very clear to him. We are willing to work with Mitchell and put in the time, effort, and energy and provide him with the necessary resources and platform to confront bullying and racism.
“This isn’t a story about excuses or justifications. It’s a story about reflection, growth, and community impact. A true leader finds ways for every person to contribute to the solution. We all need to be a part of the solution.”
But that rings hollow with Meyer-Crothers.
The boy who bullied her son is now a scholarship athlete at North Dakota, where college hockey — not football and basketball — is the biggest game on campus.
He’s also an NHL draft pick. And soon enough, if he continues to develop, he’ll turn pro and play in the NHL.
“He pretended to be my friend and made me do things I didn’t want to do,” Isaiah Meyer-Crothers told AZCentral in a phone interview. “In junior high, I got beat up by him. … Everyone thinks he’s so cool that he gets to go to the NHL, but I don’t see how someone can be cool when you pick on someone and bully someone your entire life.”
(Top photo: Kevin Abele / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
