I work with severely developmentally challenged teenagers. This makes writing about acts of abuse towards these tremendous human beings challenging in and of itself. My students can not speak. My students have to walk with a gaited belt and need assistance eating. This is something that my students and their parents never signed up for. Their disabilities make them vulnerable in every way. One of my students should never have lived past the age of five…he is 18 now.
I podcast and write for Inside The Rink as a release from what I do day-to-day. I love my “real” job, and the biggest reason is these kids. Some days it is the only reason. On Friday, my daytime job and my “fun” job crossed paths. The hockey team I have rooted for since I was seven years old, watching on my parent’s little black and white television in 1980, signed a 21-year-old player who viciously and repeatedly bullied a developmentally challenged HUMAN BEING for years. It strikes a chord. I can keep sports in perspective most times. My team wins and loses. At the end of the day, it’s just hockey. But Friday, it became about much more than that.
Mitchell Miller, a fourth-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes in 2020, was signed by Boston to an entry-level contract on Friday, sparking outrage from fans and confusing theories from the media who cover the team. 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 a 14-year-old eat a candy push pop after wiping it in a bathroom urinal, and surveillance video showed them kicking and punching him. The victim and his mother have outlined years of abuse and harassment from Miller that continued without a formal apology to the victim or his family. A week and a half ago, Miller reached out to the victim on Instagram to apologize for what happened “when we were 14.” The victim’s mother said the abuse, which included racial slurs as well, happened from kindergarten to tenth grade.
Bruins Team President Cam Neely talked about how the team spent time with Miller to see how accountable the player is for his past behavior and that he has used his “mistake” as a teachable moment. General Manager Don Sweeney almost seemed to acknowledge the risk involved in signing Miller by saying that if it were his child, he doesn’t know if he could forgive him. Sweeney asked the leaders of the Bruins about the potential signing, and captain Patrice Bergeron wondered why. Why, in fact, are the Bruins signing Miller when no college or pro teams would touch him? Good question, Patrice.
Miller is a talented hockey player, and as seen recently, hockey tends to overlook unacceptable indiscretions, as evidenced by sexual abuse within Hockey Canada’s program and players like Evander Kane, who have checkered pasts. This is not exclusive to hockey, as all pro sports leagues have experienced vile player behavior. At what point is the behavior NOT worthy of a “second chance”? In Miller’s case, this goes beyond a young boy being stupid or making a “mistake.” There is a big difference between immature and sociopaths.
The Boston Bruins are 10-1-0 and the best team in the NHL. Their leader Bergeron and previous captain Zdeno Chara have created a top-notch culture within the organization. It means something to them. Signing Mitchell Miller is a “mistake,” but unfortunately, not nearly of the magnitude of Miller’s repeated “mistakes.” This signing is unnecessary and disappointing, as a devout Bruins fan and a huge fan of my developmentally challenged students that I love dearly.
Season 4. Episode 34. Marco? Polo? – Bruins Benders Podcast
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Miller was 13 years old. What he did was despicable and went to Juvenile court and found guilty. We don’t try children in adult courts. We have Juvenile Court for a reason, right? If children can’t turn their lives around, why do we bother with any prison reform or probation? We give wife beaters and cheaters, dog abusers, drunk drivers and addicts a chance but not a 13 year old? The hypocrisy is gross.
If this was going from kindergarten to grade 10 where was the mother and what about the school does this mean Miller was doing this since he was 5 ? Sameone was not doing a good job raising their children