A week ago we discussed how the intersection of sports and society mesh when it comes to expressing points of view that may not always be considered acceptable by the mainstream. In the majority of the cases, it is the athletes that are standing up, or in the case of a Colin Kaepernick, taking a knee, against racism and its practices. What took place last night was a definitive stand that racism will not be tolerated, but what made it so unique was that it wasn’t an athlete who made the proclamation, but a front office.

The Arizona Republic reported yesterday that the National Hockey League’s Arizona Coyotes renounced the draft rights to fourth round pick Mitchell Miller, who was selected in the 2020 draft. According to reports, Miller had repeatedly bullied and assaulted Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, who is a Black classmate with disabilities, in 2016. In addition, Miller had continuously called Meyer-Crothers the “n-word” and “brownie.” Miller also abused Meyer-Crothers by tricking him into licking a candy push pop that had been rubbed in a toilet urinal.

Miller sent a letter to every NHL team explaining his behavior, but once the Arizona Coyotes discovered more incidents, they released him. Team President and CEO Xavier Gutierrez issued the following statement:

“We have decided to renounce the rights to Mitchell Miller, effective immediately,” Gutierrez said  in a statement. “Prior to selecting Mitchell in the NHL Draft, we were aware that a bullying incident took place in 2016. 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. We have learned more about the entire matter, and more importantly, the impact it has had on Isaiah and the Meyer-Crothers family. 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.

“On behalf of the Arizona Coyotes ownership and our entire organization, I would like to apologize to Isaiah and the Meyer-Crothers family. We are building a model franchise on and off the ice and will do the right thing for Isaiah and the Meyer-Crothers family, our fans and our partners.”

Miller has apologized for his actions, but not directly to Meyer-Crothers.

Often an organization will overlook an athlete’s prior discretions as long as they are able to perform on the playing field, but in this instance it could set a precedent. The world no longer takes racism lightly, and even if someone acknowledges their transgressions, it can no longer be chalked up to “youthful immaturity.” What Miller did was horrific, and the resulting trauma that Meyer-Crothers and his family will have to deal with going forward is immeasurable.

The Arizona Coyotes took the right stand in deciding that they did not want him to be a part of their team, and hopefully more organizations will take note of their courageous stance against racist acts to do the same thing. Talent should never be a cover for mistreatment of Black and Brown people, and looking the other way would have sent a poor message. Whether the abuse is in person or in a tweet, perhaps this will give other athletes pause about the way they conduct themselves and see the world in a different way, that they will be held accountable for what they do away from the game as well as on it.

Maybe this incident will open the eyes of the next young star who thinks its okay to treat someone so cruelly and see that they are human just like the rest of us. No one knows when the NHL season will begin, but the Arizona Coyotes already scored the biggest goal of the year.