Just one day after the Arizona Coyotes officially renounced Mitchell Miller’s NHL draft rights, North Dakota announced Friday that the team has cut ties with the freshman defenseman.
Earlier this week, it was uncovered that Miller had bullied and assaulted a black developmentally-disabled classmate during his eighth grade year four years ago in Sylvania, Ohio.
The Coyotes drafted Miller in the fourth round (111th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft on Oct. 7.
The announcement from North Dakota came in the form of a letter from university president Andrew Armacost.
“Dear UND Campus Community,
I have been closely monitoring the situation concerning Men’s Hockey student-athlete Mitchell Miller, who was involved in a situation as a youth in 2016. We expect our students to live by our values in the classroom, in the community and when representing the University on the field of play.
After much consideration and discussions with Mitchell, the Miller family, our Athletics Direction, Bill Chaves, and coach Brad Berry, I have decided that the best course of action for Mitchell and the University is that he no longer be a member of the UND Men’s Hockey program. Mitchell may remain a student at UND and we will continue to support his future intellectual and interpersonal growth.
We wish Mitchell well in whatever path he chooses in his future endeavors.
Lastly, I want to thank coach Berry and Athletics Director Chaves for working with me as we navigated through this difficult decision together, and for working with Mitchell and his family.”
