Welcome to the AZ Coyotes Insider newsletter. I generally publish stories four to six times per week (some of them free). By subscribing, you’ll be supporting independent, accountable journalism. Subscribe now so you won’t miss a story. Coyotes fourth-round draft pick Mitchell Miller addresses reporters on a Zoom call after the NHL Draft on Nov. 7. The Coyotes renounced the rights to Miller on Thursday amid a firestorm of national criticism.
One issue in the handling of this situation that wasn’t mentioned in the article was the attempted and failed damage control earlier this week by XG. It is his behavior this week that really makes me feel even more uneasy about this ownership group.
I mean, his statement Monday versus his statement Thursday really make it clear that he didn’t mean at all what he said Monday. That he was pushing a false narrative as damage control. He made it seem as though the team was intentional in drafted Miller. Like they took it as a challenge or a “responsibility” to shape this kid and rehabilitate him. They said it was the right thing to do and the strong thing to do.
Then the minute it gets too hot from a PR perspective, he pulls a 180 and dumps the kid.
I don’t know whether it was right or wrong to draft Miller. I don’t know whether it was right or wrong to release him.
I do know that what XG did this week was absolutely wrong. He never should have said these words if he didn’t mean them. Shamefully disingenuous. And I mean that. He lied and he should be ashamed of himself.
Xavier Gutierrez on Monday, October 26th:
"When we first learned of Mitchell's story, it would have been easy for us to dismiss him -- many teams did. 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.
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. 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."
Xavier Gutierrez on Thursday, October 29:
"We have decided to renounce the rights to Mitchell Miller, effective immediately."
Reading even more details about this, it appears it wasn't some isolated "boys will be boys"—which is cringe enough—I was a 14-year-old boy and while I'm sure I said some dumb things at some point, I also know I never made a kid lick something I'd wiped in a urinal, smashed his head into a brick wall, kicked him, and terrorized him for years beforehand.
Leaving aside the racial component, which is gross and a further look into his character, it's obvious Miller was a bully, through and through. When they both appeared in court, his co-defendant broke down in tears apologizing for his part in it. The judge actually called out that Miller simply did not seem to grasp the problem or the gravity of his actions.
And while I can see this point that "we have to let people get better and prove themselves," I'd also argue that we don't need to invite toxic people into the league to perpetuate this sort of bullshit to begin with, and let that be a warning to the kids out there—bully people, use racial slurs, physically hurt people, treat people like shit? You won't have a seat at the table just because your parents tell the court you're sorry or you're forced to write a court-appointed letter.
Professional athletes, now more than ever, take on a position of role model, and someone who terrorized a kid for years growing up is just not the sort of personality deserving of a spot in the show.
Thanks so much Craig for your clear statements (three weeks ago and now) as well as the opportunity to discuss the issue in the comment section. There is a lot to learn from this story, not only for sports organizations but for the entire society.
“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,” Coyotes after drafting him.
Until they weren't. Honestly how does this stream of horrid decisions continue to happen in this organization even under different owners, GMs, coaches, scouts?
Thank you for your reporting on this situation and providing a forum for discussion. With 20/20 hindsight there's many things that could have and should have been done differently. The safe thing would be to not draft Miller. Conventional hockey wisdom dictates you take the best player available. Once drafted, explaining their plan to work with Miller was appropriate and if they meant it, they should have stood by their pick, especially since he's playing in college where they can continue to access whether or not he's offered a contract. They could have quietly tested the water before saying anything if they were willing to "change their mind" on Miller and just come out with the reversal statement. One statement in either direction shows leadership, opposing statements in both directions shows mismanagement and lack of a clear platform. Every team needed to dig deeper on this prospect but 2020 isn't a normal year. The Coyotes met the baseline standard of all NHL teams.
I'm a 33 veteran juvenile probation officer. Many assumptions are erroneous in this arena. He had to follow his terms of probation to be released. When the crime is against person and not property it is a standard order to have no personal contact with the victim nor his family and I would advise my clients similarly if not so ordered. Miller should not have talked to, called or done anything other than write the letter under threat of violation of probation. The written letter had to be acceptable to the court in content or would have to be re-written until it was in the child's words without parental/agent or adult help. My clients wrote their letters under my direct supervision. Had Miller continued in his 'bully" behavior a simple phone call to the probation officer would have prevented him from being released from probation which is not a specific time frame but can extend until his 18th birthday, even without additional charges being filed. Should he still be in non compliance he would have been released unsuccessfully at 18 and could not petition to have his records sealed after age 19.
There is always more to the story than meets the eye. Victims are not always 100% innocent nor 100% honest. We've heard nothing from the adoptive father. The mother is a career foster mother of 57 children prior to adoption. When a developmentally disabled child is adopted the state continues to provide services to the family. As a career foster mother she would have access to a myriad of resources and contact with Child protective service social workers to prevent the bullying from rising to this level. The mother says it went on for several years. What was done by the mother, the adoption agency, the school, the victim's counselors or anyone to assist the victim prior to this event or subsequently. Was the "bullying" brought to the attention of Miller's biological/billet parents? Were they made part of the solution? The victim continued to seek out his perpetrator so he could be popular too. What if any responsibility rests with him? Being developmentally delayed does not mean he's unable to learn. Kids will do unimaginable things to belong, both as perpetrators and willing victims. Consider gang members who are willingly "jumped into a gang" by 3 to 5 assailants. Kids don't think or see the world as adults do. The don't start to develop "adult formalized thinking" until they are 14. That's possibility thinking. Kids live at the end of their nose and don't see consequences beyond that.....at least the kids who are caught, prosecuted and adjudicated delinquent. Kids are only given probation at home (rather than residential treatment) if they are not seen as a threat to the community and are amenable to treatment.
We will never know the full story. The mother is dissatisfied with justice under law and wants Miller to have a "life long sentence" for his actions. Conflicting accounts have him as a bully and a kid who has learned and is improving. Time will tell. Unfortunately for everyone an opportunity to use what has become a high profile story to address bullying and racism has been lost. You don't stop bullying and racism by rejecting, humiliating and labeling people. That more often than not leads to more hurt and anger. Hurt and angry people hurt people out of anger.
I am guilty of doing the same thing to a mentally challenged black guy when I was a young soldier. He was also a friend. Three of us were washing the mud off a tank at Ft. Knox Kentucky at a wash rack. Me and the other soldier tried to play a joke on him and it backfired. It was nearly a cruel a joke as was done to Miller’s victim. ( I’ll go into detail if you want) but when I saw his reaction I dropped that big hose and ran over to him and grabbing his arm, said : “ I’m sorry, it was just a joke”!!! He was a big farm boy and could have thrown me back down the TC hatch and stuffed me in the ready rack but he finally calmed down... it was cruel but sounded so funny when I saw it on the day room TV back at the barracks.
I never got fired for anything, I learned from my mistakes and went from a private to a major.
The black guy from Alabama later got discharged because of his disability and I only remembered this because of the Mitch Miller debacle.
We have historically forgiven our fellow citizens for their transgressions. Some never apologized, never paid a public price and were protected by District court judges:
David J Garrow..” The troubling legacy of Martin Luther King, Standpoint Magazine 5/19
The cadets at VMI toppled over the statue of Stonewall Jackson today. The commanding general there, I recognized his name, I served with him..he resigned in protest. He owned 7 slaves I guess. Of course if you read Robertson’s biography of him around 1996, Jackson and his wife ran a school for slave children while he was an instructor at VMI, living in Lexington He taught hundreds of slave children to read. Just some info.
I was going to talk about how the local press went after Miller. He didn’t have a chance. Thank you
So sad that the Coyotes allowed themselves to be bullied in the name of fake hysteria. The kid will always have this to deal with, he was punished by a court and served the sentence yet the cancel culture of liberalism has decided the court punishment wasn't enough. Same folks who happily cheer on guys who have substance issues, anger issues, lewdness issues, and their own criminal convictions.
What's next the Leafs have to release AM34? The Hall of Fame has to remove a whole bunch of guys?.seriously when does this end?
What he did was inexcusable but what the cancel culture folks are doing is no better.
Ya'll can feel free to disagree it's ok. We are all entitled to our opinions. Well maybe we aren't anymore...that seems the next target of many
What Miller did to the kid was brutal. What adult members of the media are currently doing to Miller for something he did when he was 14 is brutal. Media just bullying someone themselves, but doing so in the name of preventing bullying so they can feel good about it.
Craig, I don't envy you having to respond to these comments. People really showing their true colours here. It's somewhat scary how many are almost bragging about how they did worse as 14 year olds.
No one's arguing Miller shouldn't be given opportunities for redemption. But he chose to engage in prolonged racial bullying and opted not to apologize. He's the one that's limiting his own options. I'd even wager a guess that the apology letter sent to GMs was written more by his agent and parents than Miller himself. But if he genuinely is remorseful, I hope he finds some way to make a living for himself.
Hard to say what's right here. I agree that the egregiousness of the offense and the seeming lack of genuine remorse, makes this a serious situation that can't be overlooked. But I do have concerns that we only seem to be hearing from one side. Revenge can seem like justice on the surface. And I do not agree with this tend in our society, that condemns people to their mistakes (minor or major) with no opportunity to redeem themselves. In the end, the Yotes did the only thing the could. It probably is for the best. But I don't think any of us can say that for sure in the now. I only wish that the Coyotes would have passed on him to avoid yet another black eye that makes our hockey team look like a 3rd rate organization and the running joke of the league.
Unfortunately, this is one of too many pro sports examples where talent trumps character. Welcome back to the NFL Antonio Brown. Team management, past and current, can't seem to stop shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to the draft. Since Armstrong supposedly wasn't involved in the draft this year, I will hold out hope that Armstrong and company get it right next year.
I've continued to investigate through google to verify accusations of continued bullying. In the 4 years since the original offense Mitch has played on 4 teams in 4 different cities. Two were 1 hour each way from his junior high school Another was in another state 8 hours away. The last was in a different state 12 hours away. It seems unlikely that he could continue to harass the victim from those distances. Once he was adjudicated his behavior was being monitored more closely so it seems unlikely that much was happening at school. As to his being a racist, also doubtful. His twin sister dated a black student for a year. They all went out together. Once the couple broke up Miller stayed and continues to be friends with that kid. Also, we haven't heard from the victims father. Could that be because there is a police report of his bullying and putting his hands on the throat of a soccer coach at a U-10 black soccer team game? I've read the report , and the emails from the other spectator parents. Many parents said their sons were traumatized by the actions of the father. The coach remained calm. It should be noted that the coach had one arm in a sling, couldn't really defend himself and chose not to file formal charges and to forgive the father. Hmmm? Puts a new light on the victim's family.
One issue in the handling of this situation that wasn’t mentioned in the article was the attempted and failed damage control earlier this week by XG. It is his behavior this week that really makes me feel even more uneasy about this ownership group.
I mean, his statement Monday versus his statement Thursday really make it clear that he didn’t mean at all what he said Monday. That he was pushing a false narrative as damage control. He made it seem as though the team was intentional in drafted Miller. Like they took it as a challenge or a “responsibility” to shape this kid and rehabilitate him. They said it was the right thing to do and the strong thing to do.
Then the minute it gets too hot from a PR perspective, he pulls a 180 and dumps the kid.
I don’t know whether it was right or wrong to draft Miller. I don’t know whether it was right or wrong to release him.
I do know that what XG did this week was absolutely wrong. He never should have said these words if he didn’t mean them. Shamefully disingenuous. And I mean that. He lied and he should be ashamed of himself.
Xavier Gutierrez on Monday, October 26th:
"When we first learned of Mitchell's story, it would have been easy for us to dismiss him -- many teams did. 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.
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. 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."
Xavier Gutierrez on Thursday, October 29:
"We have decided to renounce the rights to Mitchell Miller, effective immediately."
Reading even more details about this, it appears it wasn't some isolated "boys will be boys"—which is cringe enough—I was a 14-year-old boy and while I'm sure I said some dumb things at some point, I also know I never made a kid lick something I'd wiped in a urinal, smashed his head into a brick wall, kicked him, and terrorized him for years beforehand.
Leaving aside the racial component, which is gross and a further look into his character, it's obvious Miller was a bully, through and through. When they both appeared in court, his co-defendant broke down in tears apologizing for his part in it. The judge actually called out that Miller simply did not seem to grasp the problem or the gravity of his actions.
And while I can see this point that "we have to let people get better and prove themselves," I'd also argue that we don't need to invite toxic people into the league to perpetuate this sort of bullshit to begin with, and let that be a warning to the kids out there—bully people, use racial slurs, physically hurt people, treat people like shit? You won't have a seat at the table just because your parents tell the court you're sorry or you're forced to write a court-appointed letter.
Professional athletes, now more than ever, take on a position of role model, and someone who terrorized a kid for years growing up is just not the sort of personality deserving of a spot in the show.
why do I get the feeling that this wouldn't be the same kind of PR nightmare if it were any other team that drafted the kid...
Thanks so much Craig for your clear statements (three weeks ago and now) as well as the opportunity to discuss the issue in the comment section. There is a lot to learn from this story, not only for sports organizations but for the entire society.
“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,” Coyotes after drafting him.
Until they weren't. Honestly how does this stream of horrid decisions continue to happen in this organization even under different owners, GMs, coaches, scouts?
Thanks for tackling this tough story and doing it so well.
WOW!
If everyone’s 14 yr old actions were made public we would all be fired!
Think about the mind and actions of a 14 yr old really!
What about the rehab process for this man.
It is so easy to fire someone than to work to change someone.
Shame on Coyotes and azcoyotesnsider!
Thank you for your reporting on this situation and providing a forum for discussion. With 20/20 hindsight there's many things that could have and should have been done differently. The safe thing would be to not draft Miller. Conventional hockey wisdom dictates you take the best player available. Once drafted, explaining their plan to work with Miller was appropriate and if they meant it, they should have stood by their pick, especially since he's playing in college where they can continue to access whether or not he's offered a contract. They could have quietly tested the water before saying anything if they were willing to "change their mind" on Miller and just come out with the reversal statement. One statement in either direction shows leadership, opposing statements in both directions shows mismanagement and lack of a clear platform. Every team needed to dig deeper on this prospect but 2020 isn't a normal year. The Coyotes met the baseline standard of all NHL teams.
I'm a 33 veteran juvenile probation officer. Many assumptions are erroneous in this arena. He had to follow his terms of probation to be released. When the crime is against person and not property it is a standard order to have no personal contact with the victim nor his family and I would advise my clients similarly if not so ordered. Miller should not have talked to, called or done anything other than write the letter under threat of violation of probation. The written letter had to be acceptable to the court in content or would have to be re-written until it was in the child's words without parental/agent or adult help. My clients wrote their letters under my direct supervision. Had Miller continued in his 'bully" behavior a simple phone call to the probation officer would have prevented him from being released from probation which is not a specific time frame but can extend until his 18th birthday, even without additional charges being filed. Should he still be in non compliance he would have been released unsuccessfully at 18 and could not petition to have his records sealed after age 19.
There is always more to the story than meets the eye. Victims are not always 100% innocent nor 100% honest. We've heard nothing from the adoptive father. The mother is a career foster mother of 57 children prior to adoption. When a developmentally disabled child is adopted the state continues to provide services to the family. As a career foster mother she would have access to a myriad of resources and contact with Child protective service social workers to prevent the bullying from rising to this level. The mother says it went on for several years. What was done by the mother, the adoption agency, the school, the victim's counselors or anyone to assist the victim prior to this event or subsequently. Was the "bullying" brought to the attention of Miller's biological/billet parents? Were they made part of the solution? The victim continued to seek out his perpetrator so he could be popular too. What if any responsibility rests with him? Being developmentally delayed does not mean he's unable to learn. Kids will do unimaginable things to belong, both as perpetrators and willing victims. Consider gang members who are willingly "jumped into a gang" by 3 to 5 assailants. Kids don't think or see the world as adults do. The don't start to develop "adult formalized thinking" until they are 14. That's possibility thinking. Kids live at the end of their nose and don't see consequences beyond that.....at least the kids who are caught, prosecuted and adjudicated delinquent. Kids are only given probation at home (rather than residential treatment) if they are not seen as a threat to the community and are amenable to treatment.
We will never know the full story. The mother is dissatisfied with justice under law and wants Miller to have a "life long sentence" for his actions. Conflicting accounts have him as a bully and a kid who has learned and is improving. Time will tell. Unfortunately for everyone an opportunity to use what has become a high profile story to address bullying and racism has been lost. You don't stop bullying and racism by rejecting, humiliating and labeling people. That more often than not leads to more hurt and anger. Hurt and angry people hurt people out of anger.
I am guilty of doing the same thing to a mentally challenged black guy when I was a young soldier. He was also a friend. Three of us were washing the mud off a tank at Ft. Knox Kentucky at a wash rack. Me and the other soldier tried to play a joke on him and it backfired. It was nearly a cruel a joke as was done to Miller’s victim. ( I’ll go into detail if you want) but when I saw his reaction I dropped that big hose and ran over to him and grabbing his arm, said : “ I’m sorry, it was just a joke”!!! He was a big farm boy and could have thrown me back down the TC hatch and stuffed me in the ready rack but he finally calmed down... it was cruel but sounded so funny when I saw it on the day room TV back at the barracks.
I never got fired for anything, I learned from my mistakes and went from a private to a major.
The black guy from Alabama later got discharged because of his disability and I only remembered this because of the Mitch Miller debacle.
We have historically forgiven our fellow citizens for their transgressions. Some never apologized, never paid a public price and were protected by District court judges:
David J Garrow..” The troubling legacy of Martin Luther King, Standpoint Magazine 5/19
The cadets at VMI toppled over the statue of Stonewall Jackson today. The commanding general there, I recognized his name, I served with him..he resigned in protest. He owned 7 slaves I guess. Of course if you read Robertson’s biography of him around 1996, Jackson and his wife ran a school for slave children while he was an instructor at VMI, living in Lexington He taught hundreds of slave children to read. Just some info.
I was going to talk about how the local press went after Miller. He didn’t have a chance. Thank you
So sad that the Coyotes allowed themselves to be bullied in the name of fake hysteria. The kid will always have this to deal with, he was punished by a court and served the sentence yet the cancel culture of liberalism has decided the court punishment wasn't enough. Same folks who happily cheer on guys who have substance issues, anger issues, lewdness issues, and their own criminal convictions.
What's next the Leafs have to release AM34? The Hall of Fame has to remove a whole bunch of guys?.seriously when does this end?
What he did was inexcusable but what the cancel culture folks are doing is no better.
Ya'll can feel free to disagree it's ok. We are all entitled to our opinions. Well maybe we aren't anymore...that seems the next target of many
What Miller did to the kid was brutal. What adult members of the media are currently doing to Miller for something he did when he was 14 is brutal. Media just bullying someone themselves, but doing so in the name of preventing bullying so they can feel good about it.
Craig, I don't envy you having to respond to these comments. People really showing their true colours here. It's somewhat scary how many are almost bragging about how they did worse as 14 year olds.
No one's arguing Miller shouldn't be given opportunities for redemption. But he chose to engage in prolonged racial bullying and opted not to apologize. He's the one that's limiting his own options. I'd even wager a guess that the apology letter sent to GMs was written more by his agent and parents than Miller himself. But if he genuinely is remorseful, I hope he finds some way to make a living for himself.
Seemed like an incredibly dumb decision when it happened, especially for a franchise with so much recent bad press. Glad that he’s gone.
Hard to say what's right here. I agree that the egregiousness of the offense and the seeming lack of genuine remorse, makes this a serious situation that can't be overlooked. But I do have concerns that we only seem to be hearing from one side. Revenge can seem like justice on the surface. And I do not agree with this tend in our society, that condemns people to their mistakes (minor or major) with no opportunity to redeem themselves. In the end, the Yotes did the only thing the could. It probably is for the best. But I don't think any of us can say that for sure in the now. I only wish that the Coyotes would have passed on him to avoid yet another black eye that makes our hockey team look like a 3rd rate organization and the running joke of the league.
Unfortunately, this is one of too many pro sports examples where talent trumps character. Welcome back to the NFL Antonio Brown. Team management, past and current, can't seem to stop shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to the draft. Since Armstrong supposedly wasn't involved in the draft this year, I will hold out hope that Armstrong and company get it right next year.
I've continued to investigate through google to verify accusations of continued bullying. In the 4 years since the original offense Mitch has played on 4 teams in 4 different cities. Two were 1 hour each way from his junior high school Another was in another state 8 hours away. The last was in a different state 12 hours away. It seems unlikely that he could continue to harass the victim from those distances. Once he was adjudicated his behavior was being monitored more closely so it seems unlikely that much was happening at school. As to his being a racist, also doubtful. His twin sister dated a black student for a year. They all went out together. Once the couple broke up Miller stayed and continues to be friends with that kid. Also, we haven't heard from the victims father. Could that be because there is a police report of his bullying and putting his hands on the throat of a soccer coach at a U-10 black soccer team game? I've read the report , and the emails from the other spectator parents. Many parents said their sons were traumatized by the actions of the father. The coach remained calm. It should be noted that the coach had one arm in a sling, couldn't really defend himself and chose not to file formal charges and to forgive the father. Hmmm? Puts a new light on the victim's family.