The Bruins announced on Thursday that they are strengthening their player-vetting process following the completion of an independent review into their controversial signing of Mitchell Miller last month.
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The Bruins signed Miller, who had a history of bullying and racism in his past, on Nov. 4, but announced they were cutting ties with him just two days later after widespread backlash from fans, media and their own players, with Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Nick Foligno among those who vocalized opposition to the move.
The Bruins announced the independent investigation into their player-vetting process on Nov. 15, and it has now wrapped up a little over a month later.
Notably, the review found that "while the Bruins did have an existing process for vetting players and there was no misconduct by Bruins employees during the Miller vetting process, there were gaps in the club’s vetting procedures, which created challenges when faced, as here, with a recruit with significant red flags."
While the Bruins have publicly cut ties with Miller and he is not skating with the organization in any capacity, he does technically remain under contract with the team. In order for the relationship to formally end, the two sides would have to agree to a mutual termination, the Bruins would need to have cause to terminate the contract, or they will have to wait until after the season to buy Miller out.
Here is the Bruins' full statement on the investigation's findings and their next steps:
The Boston Bruins announced today the adoption of a series of substantive improvements to strengthen the team’s player-vetting process following the completion of an independent review of the facts and circumstances leading to the signing of Mitchell Miller. That review, led by former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch of the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, just concluded December 22, 2022, and included interviews with key Bruins employees and the review of thousands of documents and communications related to the signing of Miller.
“The steps we are announcing today underscore our organization’s commitment to our values, including our process for vetting future players,” Boston Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs said. “These improvements, which the team will begin implementing immediately, will help ensure that we are meeting the high standards our associates, fans and community expect from this great organization.”
“Throughout our independent and thorough review process, the Bruins’ leadership and employees cooperated fully. Based upon our review, we have recommended a series of changes and enhancements to the process of vetting future players,” said Loretta Lynch.
The Paul, Weiss review determined that, while the Bruins did have an existing process for vetting players and there was no misconduct by Bruins employees during the Miller vetting process, there were gaps in the club’s vetting procedures, which created challenges when faced, as here, with a recruit with significant red flags. In the case of Mitchell Miller, those red flags involved findings of prior juvenile misconduct, but there could in the future be circumstances involving other objectionable conduct that could render a prospect ineligible to join the Bruins organization. Paul, Weiss identified several improvements to the team’s vetting process. The Bruins leadership has taken, and will continue to take, steps to ensure that organizational values and standards are upheld moving forward. The following specific recommendations were identified:
• Establish clear written policies for vetting off-ice conduct, including identifying red flags requiring detailed vetting and documented resolution
• Establish clear timetables and responsibilities within the organization to investigate prospects’ community or other off-ice commitments
• Establish centralized documentation of vetting to include reporting on red flags and off-ice issues and ensure such documentation is available to all stakeholders involved in the process
• Establish tracking system to ensure responsibilities for all vetting tasks are clearly assigned and tracked.
• Utilize independent third-party resources to investigate and resolve factual issues when reviewing red flags
• Determine whether there are specific training or rehabilitation programs the prospect should participate in depending on the nature of the red flags
The Boston Bruins will begin to implement the recommendations immediately.
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