Bruins sign Mitchell Miller to an ELC - now "parting ways"

RedOctober3829

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timelysarcasm

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Speaking as a Bruins fan of color, this is a really disappointing, embarrassing signing.

I do believe in second chances - but his second chance should be proving he's grown into a better person in life. How about showing remorse that's not court or career mandated (apologizing via DM the week before getting signed is just gross, come on)? I don't believe that a second chance needs to specifically mean professional hockey - and certainly not with the Bruins, given the city's reputation. Professional sports are not a right. The Bruins have built a great culture thanks to the players, this is a slap in the face to those guys. Bergeron sitting in that chair uncomfortably discussing the move is a huge miss, and what a way to unleash a fart on the great start this season.

Second chances should be making something worthwhile of your life, showing you're not a racist POS - not basically doing nothing besides two crappy mandated apologies in the hopes of continuing to play hockey for money.

And if, somehow, you don't care about all of that - the actual team seems to have an issue with it. What a colossally embarrassing misstep.

View: https://twitter.com/FlutoShinzawa/status/1588931135853461504
 
PedroSpecialK

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I don’t know how but this keeps getting worse. Kudos to Bergeron and Foligno for their comments after they’ve been put in a shitty situation.
 
Murby

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Holy. Moly. It keeps getting worse. I’m sorry, if I’m the owner I’m firing Neely & Sweeney for this. This is that bad. The management’s rollout of this has been a case study in what not to do. Woof.
 
JCizzle

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Murby said:
Holy. Moly. It keeps getting worse. I’m sorry, if I’m the owner I’m firing Neely & Sweeney for this. This is that bad. The management’s rollout of this has been a case study in what not to do. Woof.
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Just lit a million dollars on fire for fun. What a joke.
 
Bozo Texino

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If Miller is truly ineligible to play in the NHL, what are the B's options?

Jesus Christ, Sweeney and Neely look like total fucking morons.
 
MiracleOfO2704

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Bozo Texino said:
If Miller is truly ineligible to play in the NHL, what are the B's options?

Jesus Christ, Sweeney and Neely look like total fucking morons.
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In reverse order, yes they are, and essentially they have to keep the kid in Maine (nothing says he can’t end up in the ECHL) or Providence until Bettman signs off on a call to the NHL. As was pointed out earlier, it’s not likely a problem for this year anyway.
 
Salem's Lot

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What a clown show. The team is rolling now and you introduce this distraction for a guy like this who probably isn’t even good to play in the league. Seriously, what the fuck are they doing?
 
TSC

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kenneycb said:
How many players are currently not eligible for the NHL?
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I think Slava Voynov might be the only one? I know when he tried to come back, the league and the NHLPA were going to need to work out a suspension.

But how the fuck is the NHL going to say he isn't eligible to play when they allowed him to be drafted, his crime/punishment occured when he was a juvenille, and he didn't violate any NHL rules while on an NHL roster?
 
lexrageorge

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If the league never put Mitchell on a suspended list of some sort, not sure how anyone was supposed to know he was ineligible.
 
MiracleOfO2704

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It’s probably just Bettman putting his thumb on the scale post-hoc. He saw the shitstorm this created for the league’s top-performing team so far, knows how shit trickles down to the league itself, and decided to fix this in his own. I’ve seen one podcaster refer to the NHL hierarchy as a crime family, with Bettman as the Don. It’s totally believable when something like this happens.
 
PedroSpecialK

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IIRC they can release him and be on the hook for his guaranteed AHL deal, possibly would be forced to pay out bonuses, but wouldn’t have cap ramifications. Not sure if that’s changed w/r/t two-way deals
 
PedroSpecialK

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The greater point about why he’s ineligible and guys like Kane, Watson, and D’Angelo aren’t are — is it simply that they haven’t been convicted of any charges in a court of law (that I know of) specific to racial abuse / DV?

I can’t imagine Bettman volunteering that without having a high level understanding of the legal ramifications
 
Ed Hillel

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The NHL and AHL are banning this guy for? What the fuck? This is a much bigger issue than the Bruins signing him.
 
bankshot1

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As terrible as this story reads, and as less than forthright as the Bruins seem to have been, I ask is there no possible leeway for a bullying racist and horribly misguided 14 YO to be given a 2nd chance to prove he's is a better person. I'm not sure I would want to be judged forever on my worst days as a teenager.
 
ngruz25

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It sounds like Bettman is just making a move that has broad popular support for pure PR reasons. The Bruins aren't going to wager a legal battle for this kid. It's an easy win in the court of public opinion for Bettman and the league.
 
cshea

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PedroSpecialK said:
IIRC they can release him and be on the hook for his guaranteed AHL deal, possibly would be forced to pay out bonuses, but wouldn’t have cap ramifications. Not sure if that’s changed w/r/t two-way deals
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I think terminating is the only option but I’m guessing they can’t do so for cause since he’s been there a day. They could mutually terminate but that requires a negotiation with Miller and they’d probably have to pay him every penny to do so.
 
John Marzano Olympic Hero

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bankshot1 said:
As terrible as this story reads, and as less than forthright as the Bruins seem to have been, I ask is there no possible leeway for a bullying racist and horribly misguided 14 YO to be given a 2nd chance to prove he's is a better person. I'm not sure I would want to be judged forever on my worst days as a teenager.
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Did your worst day ever include continually bullying a mentally challenged kid, repeatedly call him the N-word and made him eat a lollipop that was marinating in a urinal?

Weve all done terrible things as kids. Things we wish we could take back but this wasn’t just one day, it was over seven years. And he’s reportedly shown zero to little remorse.

This more than “kids are assholes” territory.
 
TSC

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PedroSpecialK said:
The greater point about why he’s ineligible and guys like Kane, Watson, and D’Angelo aren’t are — is it simply that they haven’t been convicted of any charges in a court of law (that I know of) specific to racial abuse / DV?

I can’t imagine Bettman volunteering that without having a high level understanding of the legal ramifications
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On July 24, 2018, Watson pleaded no contest to the domestic assault charge. He was sentenced to one-year probation and ordered to complete a 26-week batterer intervention course. Violating his probation could earn Watson up to a year in jail time.[20] As a result of his charge, Watson was suspended by the NHL from all 2018–19 preseason games and 27 regular season games.[21] After appealing his suspension to an independent arbitrator, Watson's suspension was reduced to 18 games.[22]
 
burstnbloom

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TSC said:
Brock Turner was 19, an actual - legal adult when he sexually assaulted his victim.

By the most damning accounts, Mitchell’s abuse began at age 7 or 8 and continued until he was 14.
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Those are not the most damning accounts. The most damning accounts have him 1) trying to get back into the same high school despite the court order (which ended when he was 18 but he still hasn't apologized to his victim - thats CRAZY to me), confronting the victim at a football game when he was 16 and show ZERO contrition whatsoever publicly and no accounts of anyone involved saying those things happening privately either, including by Miller, who specifically would benefit from those efforts becoming public.

I get what you're trying to do here, but this is a white, privileged kid who by all accounts (including court record) systemically abused a black, developmentally disabled kid for years with racial, ableist and physical abuse. It's a tale as old as time, a white, privileged kid is given the benefit of the doubt, their opportunity for redemption is parroted and their crimes (literally) are minimized because the victim is of a marginalized class. In this case, two marginalized classes. This kid and his family don't deserve your open mindedness.
 
locknload

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All this over a guy who probably has a 5% chance of even playing a single nhl even if he didn't have this baggage. This isn't a no miss prospect that's worth 1/10000 of this hassle. I'm firmly in the people should be fired over this camp. This never should have happened and then has been handled as bad as possible. Now this shitstain is effecting the NHL team negatively because players who should be focused on Toronto night are answering questions about this. Fire Sweeney who sucks at his job anyway. It's ll everyone is talking about in Boston sports. Fans hate the move, media hates the move it's stupid beyond comprehension.
 
PedroSpecialK

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TSC said:
On July 24, 2018, Watson pleaded no contest to the domestic assault charge. He was sentenced to one-year probation and ordered to complete a 26-week batterer intervention course. Violating his probation could earn Watson up to a year in jail time.[20] As a result of his charge, Watson was suspended by the NHL from all 2018–19 preseason games and 27 regular season games.[21] After appealing his suspension to an independent arbitrator, Watson's suspension was reduced to 18 games.[22]
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Yep idk how he is playing unless they’ve had those conversations with his victim(s). Probably NHLPA-related nuance there
 
bankshot1

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John Marzano Olympic Hero said:
Did your worst day ever include continually bullying a mentally challenged kid, repeatedly call him the N-word and made him eat a lollipop that was marinating in a urinal?

Weve all done terrible things as kids. Things we wish we could take back but this wasn’t just one day, it was over seven years. And he’s reportedly shown zero to little remorse.

This more than “kids are assholes” territory.
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Agreed its terrible behavior which if he were older would likely be felonious. But he was a dumb 14 YO, with apparently little adult guidance. The question remains should he be judged forever on this? And I don't know. But it seems he will be. Unless he earns his way out.
 
SamCassellsStones

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bankshot1 said:
As terrible as this story reads, and as less than forthright as the Bruins seem to have been, I ask is there no possible leeway for a bullying racist and horribly misguided 14 YO to be given a 2nd chance to prove he's is a better person. I'm not sure I would want to be judged forever on my worst days as a teenager.
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When the story first broke this was my initial reaction. But, when I read the full details (including the years-length of the abuse), and the lack of contrition, I want the Bruins to have nothing to do with this guy. This opinion was strengthened by the post above of @Two Youks, which brought me to tears. I hope there is a way for the Providence/Boston Bruins organisations to hear it.

Shame on the Bruins, this is an organisational moral failure.
 
Mystic Merlin

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bankshot1 said:
Agreed its terrible behavior which if he were older would likely be felonious. But he was a dumb 14 YO, with apparently little adult guidance. The question remains should he be judged forever on this? And I don't know. But it seems he will be. Unless he earns his way out.
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I’m good if my favorite team isn’t the turf on which this redemption experiment takes place.
 
jezza1918

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bankshot1 said:
As terrible as this story reads, and as less than forthright as the Bruins seem to have been, I ask is there no possible leeway for a bullying racist and horribly misguided 14 YO to be given a 2nd chance to prove he's is a better person. I'm not sure I would want to be judged forever on my worst days as a teenager.
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I dont know the ultimate answer, and on the whole Im far more on the side of giving second chances. But I also dont think, given all we know about this story, this kid's second chance needs to be a shot making millions of dollars playing professional hockey. It's not like I wish him harm, or a destitute adult life. Maybe his second chance is through education, becoming a better adult than he was kid, and eventually coaching at some junior level? I realize it's not a perfect analogy by any means, but as I'm typing I cant help but think of Chris Herren - who very much turned around his incredibly negative life into something very positive. As I stated at the start, I dont know.
 
Ale Xander

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Great, now the memories of Christian Peter are coming back. I had forgotten all about that disaster. (Although admittedly a different fact pattern, namely age)
 
Two Youks

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McDrew said:
View: https://twitter.com/_tyanderson/status/1588711737645494273
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That happened to me last night.

Also, I keep seeing responses like "I certainly wouldn't want to be judged for the things I did as a kid." How many of you engaged in behavior roughly equal to a prolonged campaign of physical and verbal abuse directed at a developmentally disabled African-American kid? Because while lots of kids do dumb things (myself included), this is several magnitudes worse than typical "kids being kids" behavior.

I would also like to add that second chances are great, but only if the person actually demonstrates corrective and/or restorative behavior of their own accord. So far, everything coming from Miller has been coerced (the court ordered apology) or seemingly done with an ulterior motive (last week's attempt at an Instagram apology which had convenient timing). Talk is cheap, and he's had ample time to actually do something meaningful on the behalf of abuse victims, the disabled community, or the unfortunate (and all too common) intersection of the two. I'm sure if he had actually done something, anything to actually make a positive difference it would've been front and center in the announcement of his signing. Instead, it was just all empty platitudes about how he understands what he did was wrong, and how he wants to put the 'incident' behind him.

Nauseating.
 
cornwalls@6

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FL4WL3SS said:
Why would he not be eligible for the NHL? This whole thing is a clusterfuck
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No kidding. I was initially in the give him a shot a redemption camp, but the Bruins have fucked the dog so badly on this, with the league, the handling of the press conference, being apparently tone deaf to what the players think, etc., their best move is probably just to end this now. And too bad if Sweeney and Cam have to eat some embarrassment. They have a chance at a memorable season, and ending this side show now seems like the only path. There may have been a way to make this work, but they have completely flushed that.
 
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