Bruins Issue Statement Regarding Player-Vetting Process

In the aftermath of signing, and then releasing, Mitchell Miller, the Boston Bruins plan to take a thorough look at their player-vetting process.

That process was called into question due to the controversial past of the 20-year-old defenseman, one that led to several Bruins leaders speaking out about the move. A day after parting ways with Miller, Bruins president Cam Neely apologized during a press conference for the decision to sign Miller and told reporters the Bruins did not speak to the victim’s family prior to bringing Miller in.

The Bruins announced Tuesday they have hired a law firm led by former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to review their player-vetting process. The full statement the Bruins issued on the matter can be read below:

The Boston Bruins strive every day to live our values and meet the high standards our associates, fans and community have come to expect. 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.

As part of this commitment, the Boston Bruins have retained an experienced and respected team of professionals, led by former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch of the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, to conduct an independent review of our player-vetting process. This will help us ensure that our process going forward reflects our core values. The Bruins organization will fully cooperate with the independent review team and will publicly disclose the results of the review upon its completion. 

The Bruins did not indicate how long it will take to receive the results of the review.