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| - The Arizona Coyotes renounced the rights to 18-year-old defenseman Mitchell Miller, their fourth-round pick in this month's NHL Draft, after learning details of his racist bullying and assault. "We were aware that a bullying incident took place in 2016," said Coyotes president Xavier Gutierrez. "We do not condone this type of behavior but embraced this as a teachable moment to work with Mitchell to make him accountable for his actions and provide him with an opportunity to be a leader on anti-bullying and anti-racism efforts." But details were unveiled in an Arizona Republic newspaper report Monday about Miller's actions against Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, a Black classmate with developmental disabilities in Sylvania, Ohio. Meyer-Crothers said he was racially insulted, assaulted and harassed by Miller. "We have learned more about the entire matter, and more importantly, the impact it has had on Isaiah and the Meyer-Crothers family," said Gutierrez. "What we learned does not align with the core values and vision for our organization and leads to our decision to renounce our draft rights." Gutierrez apologized to the Meyer-Crothers family and said they were doing "the right thing for Isaiah and the Meyer-Crothers family, our fans and our partners. Mr. Miller is now a free agent and can pursue his dream of becoming an NHL player elsewhere." Miller apologized for the 2016 bullying incident after details were revealed. Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong also apologized to the family. He was prohibited from working the draft after leaving the St. Louis Blues in September for the Arizona job. "I fully support our decision," he said. "It was a unique situation for me not being able to participate in this year's draft and we were going through a transition with our scouting department. "Mitchell is a good hockey player, but we need to do the right thing as an organization and not just as a hockey team." js/rcw
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