The Boston Bruins are hiring a law firm to conduct an independent review of their player-vetting process in the aftermath of the team's decision to sign and then cut ties with Mitchell Miller earlier this month, the team announced Tuesday.
The Bruins say former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, of the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, will lead the review.
The Bruins say they will publicly release the results of the review upon its completion and will fully co-operate with the independent review team.
"The Boston Bruins strive every day to live our values and meet the high standards our associates, fans and community have come to expect," the team said in a statement. "This includes treating everyone inside and outside our organization with dignity and respect. We recently fell short of our high standards and disappointed both ourselves and many in our community. Moving forward, we are committed to ensuring that our values are reflected in everything we do as an organization, including our process for vetting future players."
Two days after signing Miller, the Bruins cut ties with the defenceman, who had his draft rights relinquished by Arizona for bullying a Black classmate with developmental disabilities in middle school.
The Bruins faced heavy criticism from the signing, with some of their own players questioning the move. Commissioner Gary Bettman also said Miller was not currently eligible to play in the league.
After rescinding the contract offer, team president Cam Neely said in a statement that the Bruins thought Miller's bullying of Isaiah Meyer-Crothers was an isolated incident and reversed course based on new information.
Miller pleaded guilty at age 14 to one count of assault and one count of violation of the Ohio Safe Schools Act. He and another teenager were accused of making Meyer-Crothers eat a candy push pop after wiping it in a bathroom urinal, and surveillance video showed them kicking and punching him.
Three days after the Bruins reversed course on Miller, Meyer-Crothers put out a statement saying he hasn't seen proof that the NHL prospect has changed his ways.
Meyer-Crothers said the abuse went on for years.
-- With files from AP
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