Student details the bullying he endured from Mitchell Miller, who was renounced by the Boston Bruins

The student that suffered from bullying at the hands of defenseman Mitchell Miller, back in middle school, has alleged that the 2020 draft pick would ‘spit’ in his face and call him a ‘n****’, days after the Bruins revoked an offer for the ex-NHL prospect.

On Friday, it was announced that Boston had signed Miller to an entry-level contract, prompting criticism from players and comments, before team president Cam Neely rescinded any deal on the table two days later. 

‘I have been bullied since I was in 1st grade,’ said Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, who is black and developmentally disabled, in a statement released on Wednesday by the Hockey Diversity Alliance. ‘There were not many black kids at my school. I was called ”brownie” and ‘n****’. Kids said my black mom and dad didn’t love me that’s why I had white parents.’ 

‘Mitchell used to ask me to sit with him on the bus and then he and his friends would punch me in the head. This happened my whole time in school. When I went to junior high Mitchell would spit in my face and call me a N word. I stopped telling because they called me a snitch and I would get made fun of.’ 

In 2016, Miller was 14 years old and had been convicted to one count of assault and one count of violation of the Ohio Safe Schools Act as a juvenile, along with a classmate, when he was an eighth grade at McCord Junior High School in Sylvania, Ohio, near Toledo.

The Hockey Diversity Alliance released statement from Isaiah Mayer-Crothers, who is black and developmentally disabled, on Twitter that narrates the bullying he suffered from as a child at the hands of ex-NHL prospect Mitchell Miller, who was close to sign with the Boston Bruins until last week

Further allegations of Miller’s bullying, from back in middle school, came out on Wednesday

Miller pleaded guilty at age 14 to one count of assault and one count of violation of the Ohio Safe Schools Act. He and another teenager were accused of making 14-year-old Isaiah Meyer-Crothers (left) eat a candy push pop after wiping it in a bathroom urinal, and surveillance video showed them kicking and punching him. Miller sent a letter to all 31 NHL teams acknowledging what happened and apologizing for his behavior. Meyer-Crothers’s mother, Joni (right), said Miller never personally apologized to Isaiah or their family other than a court-mandated letter

‘I had to say I was ”his n****” to sit at his table and he made me clean the whole table. He threw my food in my face. I was called ”n****” every day,’ Meyer-Crothers added.

Miller was initially drafted by the Arizona Coyotes as the 111th pick in the 2020 draft, despite the NHL team knowing of his 2016 assault conviction. The team, as well as the University of North Dakota, parted ways with Miller amid criticism after learning more about the bullying, which at one point involved forcing Meyer-Crothers into licking a piece of candy that had been in a bathroom urinal. Surveillance footage had also captured instances of Miller beating up Meyer-Crothers.

‘The office would tell me to stay away from him because he wasn’t my friend,’ the bullied victim said further into his statement. ‘Once he got expelled from school, his friends started bullying me. He pretended to be my friend and made me do things I didn’t want to. In junior high, I got beat up by him.’

‘Everyone thought he was so cool, but I don’t see how someone can be cool when you pick on someone and bully someone your entire life. Middle of October, I was being texted constantly everyday till I answered a Snapchat and IG message from Mitchell Miller,’ Meyer-Crother’s statement further read. ‘He asked me why I always have my parents doing stuff for me and why I can’t speak for myself. I told him I don’t care what my parents say I’m old enough to speak for myself.’ 

The incident took place at McCord Junior High School in Sylvania, Ohio near Toledo

Meyer-Crothers then claimed that Miller had never offered any sort of apology to him until he was on the verge of signing for the Bruins at the end of October. 

‘He told me he was sorry and didn’t involve hockey. He told me he was doing stuff in the community and helping the youth and wanted to be my friend,’ he said. I told him ”That’s all cool but where is the proof though?” He didn’t give me any. All the lies I have been told from him for so many years [,] I don’t believe what Mitchell told me.’ 

‘He kept asking me to be his friend and that he has changed over the years from what he did. I told him, ”I’m not just gonna be your friend after all you did to me,” Meyer-Crothers 

After announcing that they had cut ties with the 20-year-old, the Bruins revealed that they had initially thought Miller’s troubled past was an isolated incident. 

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman then stepped in and insisted that Miller would not currently be eligible to play in the league.

‘He’s not coming into the NHL, he’s not eligible at this point to come into the NHL,’ Bettman said. ‘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.’ 

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Miller was not eligible to play in the league due to his troubled past

Since the most recent revelations have come out, Meyer-Crothers has claimed that he’s been receiving abuse on social media from people calling him ‘a slow retarded a**clown’ and a ‘n****’. 

‘Mitchell isn’t my friend. It hurts my heart what he did to me,’ he further said in his statement. ‘So I just wanted to tell everyone — when Mitchell says we’re friends it isn’t true. I can’t take more of this.’

Backing her son, Joni Meyer-Crothers said Miller never personally apologized to Isaiah or their family other than a court-mandated letter.  

Miller sat out the 2020-21 season before scoring 39 goals with 44 assists for Tri-City of the USHL in 2021-22. He was named the USHL’s player and defenseman of the year after setting league records for goals and points by a defenseman.

‘We are sorry that this decision has overshadowed the incredible work the members of our organization do to support diversity and inclusion efforts,’ Neely said, offering his apology to Meyer-Crothers and his family and saying the team stands against bullying and racism. 

‘I think there is a lesson to be learned here for other young people. Be mindful of careless behaviors and going with the group mentality of hurting others. The repercussions can be felt for a lifetime.’