“Mitchell was spitting in my face and calling me the N-word.” delivered for the first time.
Posted at 11:23 a.m.
Updated at 11:50 a.m.
On Tuesday, two days after the Boston Bruins made the decision to cut ties with Michell Miller, Meyer-Crothers sent a letter to Hockey Diversity Alliance President Akim Aliu. He recounts in detail what he suffered for years. The text was published on social networks at the request of the young man on Wednesday morning.
“Mitchell would ask me to sit with him on the bus, then he and his friends would hit me on the head,” Meyer-Crothers wrote. It happened throughout my school career. When I was in high school, Mitchell would spit in my face and call me the N-word.”
“I stopped saying it because they said I was a snitch and they laughed at me. I had to say I was “his N––-” for sitting at his table. He made me wash the whole table. He was throwing food in my face. I was called by the N-word every day. »
The young man explains that the school administration had asked him to stay away from Miller, explaining to him that he was not his friend. When the hockey player was expelled, his friends intimidated him in turn.
” [Mitchell Miller] pretended to be my friend and made me do things I didn’t want to do, Meyer-Crothers adds. In high school, I was beaten by him. Everyone thought he was cool, but I don’t understand how you can be cool when you pick someone and bully them for their whole life. »
He says he received several messages from Miller via social networks Snapchat and Instagram last October. The defender allegedly asked him why his parents were doing things for him and why he was not speaking out on his own.
“He told me he was sorry and it didn’t involve hockey,” he wrote. He told me that he was involved in the community, that he helped young people and that he wanted to be my friend. I said, “That’s cool, but where’s the proof?” He gave me no proof. »
” [Avec] all the lies Mitchell Miller told me for so many years, I don’t believe a word he told me. »
At the end of his statement, Isaiah Meyer-Crothers mentions having received numerous hate messages on social media in the past few days since the story returned to the heart of the news.
“Mitchell is not my friend. What he did to me hurts my heart. I just wanted to tell everyone that when Mitchell says he’s my friend, that’s not true. I can’t take any more of this,” he concludes.
Recall of facts
The Bruins signed Miller on November 4, a choice that raised eyebrows. He was drafted and later released by the Arizona Coyotes in 2020 after a story of bullying Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, a young black man with developmental delay, surfaced.
A shocking article from thearizona republic revealed the tenor of Miller’s intimidation of Isaiah Meyer-Crothers four years earlier. The newspaper wrote: “Four years ago, Miller admitted in an Ohio youth court to bullying Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, including having him lick a candy that had been rubbed into a urinal without his knowledge. Meyer-Crothers also said that Miller constantly called out to him using the word that starts with the letter N and hit him repeatedly. Other students confirmed to police the allegations that Miller used racial slurs. »
Under pressure, the Coyotes ended up releasing the player.
On Saturday, commissioner Gary Bettman was particularly virulent about this contracting. He recalled in the first place having never been consulted by the Bruins. “He’s not eligible to play in the NHL and I can’t tell you he ever will be,” he added.
According to him, the acts committed by Miller in the past are “reprehensible” and “unacceptable”. He said the Bruins were “free to put him under contract, as long as he plays elsewhere.”
The Bruins finally announced late Sunday night that they were parting ways with the defenseman.
“Based on new information, we believe the best decision to make at this time is to remove Mitchell Miller from representing the Bruins. We hope he will continue to work with professionals and programs to continue his education and personal growth,” Bruins president Cam Neely said in a statement.