Hockey Diversity Alliance releases a statement on Mitchell Miller

Unless you decided to retreat from social media this past weekend, you've no doubt heard about the soap opera drama courtesy of the Boston Bruins.

The Bruins announced on Friday that they had signed former renounced NHL draft pick Mitchell Miller... only to walk that signing back on Sunday after MASSIVE backlash from fans, media and their own players. Miller, of course, has been accused and convicted of abusing a mentally handicapped boy that he went to high school with in 2016.

Miller was found delinquent in Ohio court on charges of assault and found guilty of bullying disabled African-American classmate Isaiah Meyer-Crothers. The real problem though, from my perspective, is that Miller doesn't appear to have shown any true remorse for his actions. He has filed a court-ordered apology and has completed his court-ordered community service, but the Meyer-Crothers family maintains that they have never received an apology and that Miller is not remorseful in the least. Miller's agent provided a list of non-profit initiatives that Miller has volunteered his time with, but most if not all of those organizations have refuted the agent's claims. In other words... there's not much evidence that Miller has learned his lesson at all. 

As a result, the Bruins released him just 48 hours into his contract.

In response to the entire fiasco, the Hockey Diversity Alliance (HDA) headed up by former NHLer Akim Aliu released the following statement:

"First and foremost, we want to express how deeply sorry we are for Isaiah Meyer-Crothers and his family. We will never truly be able to comprehend their pain when Mitchell Miller coldly and systematically harassed and abused Isaiah, a young Black man with a disability."

"In 2020, when reports of this harassment and abuse first surfaced, the Hockey Diversity Alliance reached out to the Meyer-Crothers family and offered our support for them. Members of our organization have stayed in touch with them since then and again over the past week."

"In fact, Isaiah contacted us this morning and expressed his distress to us. For Isaiah and his family, the healing process has been and will be a matter that will play out over years."

"Mitchell Miller's signing with the Boston Bruins had to feel like a bandage being torn off a fresh wound. When Isaiah and his family needed privacy, support and time, Miller's signing with the Bruins gave them only unwanted attention."

"Our thoughts are always with them, and our door will always be open."

"Sadly, Isaiah and his family were not in the thoughts of the Boston Bruins - if they had been then the team's management would have at the very least reached out to them before signing Mitchell Miller."

"That should have been a matter of not just due diligence but also, and more importantly, human decency."

"If the Bruins had talked to the Meyer-Crothers family, their executives would have quickly recognized the contradictions and lies in the accounts from Miller and his representatives."

"Miller's agent Eustace King had contacted members of the HDA and solicited our approval, which we quickly and emphatically declined. Further, if we had been consulted, we could have told the Bruins that we asked King to drop the matter at this time."

"After they did the wrong thing in signing Miller, the Bruins did the right thing in voiding his contract, but only after crushing pressure from the public and even disapproval from players in the Boston organization."

"NHL leadership also deemed Miller unwelcome, but only after its contract office had approved his contract, a finger-in-the-wind sequence, a late case of conscience."

"Some have talked about the concepts of 'counsel not cancel' & 'restorative justice,' concepts which if followed authentically and sincerely we at the HDA agree with. In this case, however, Miller and the team invoked these concepts out of convenience, a cynical means to an end."

"We must not allow such stage-managed reformation and apologies to suffice. Miller's signing provides an instructive example of these terms being weaponized to give cover to a bad actor."

"If he had been successful, others down the line would work from the same playbook and perpetuate system racism we are trying to eradicate at the HDA."

"Since we at the HDA took a lead in these conversations, we've seen the first black GM and assistant GM hired in the NHL. We've seen increased representation of BIPOC and women in the media and hockey-operations department across the NHL and at all levels of the game."

"We've seen the launching of other non-profit organizations that are fighting the same good cause. We are seeing progress and we will continue to fill the silence and have these conversations that make us all feel uncomfortable."

"Our goal is, and always will be, to eradicate systemic racism and intolerance from hockey. For us, this means taking a stand and calling out racist or performative behaviors, even when it is uncomfortable to do so."

"We urge that other individuals and organizations to likewise stand up for what is right rather than offering an easy out to opportunists acting in bad faith, such as the case here."

"Perhaps we at the HDA will face criticism of being too forthright and forceful in calling out Miller and the Bruins. We've been accused of that before and will be again when we speak out again when we encounter racism, ableism, sexism, anti LGBTQ conduct, or any category of hate or discrimination. Our aim is to be a catalyst for positive and progressive change, and we regard truth and accountability as our mission and a point of pride."

- Hockey Diversity Alliance

Well stated and well said. 

I haven't agreed with the HDA in everything they've done and in all the ways that they've decided to get their message out there but they are 100% on point with this message. Kudos to them for taking the time to show leadership on this matter.