12/4/21

Reese Kaplan -- Does MLB Take Domestic Violence Seriously Enough?


Major League Baseball has a very uneven and imbalanced approach to player discipline when it comes to violations of its rules.  If you read closely, a single PED offense is now worth a half a season of unpaid suspension while the offending player thinks about what he has done and that player's employer learns how to adjust to half a year's unpaid salary they received back as a bonus for the league sentence.  

Yes, they will have to replace the hitting or pitching missed while this player was gone, but half of that man's annual pay is a pretty appealing compensation for having been caught dipping into substances which are not permitted in baseball.

Where this inequity comes to surface is how the league is handling cases of domestic violence towards spouses, significant others and offspring.  On Monday Rob Manfred announced that the penalty assessed for Atlanta Braves' outfielder Marcell Ozuna having been arrested for domestic violence in May of 2021 was in and it was a mere 20 games of unpaid suspension which will be fulfilled retroactively during September of the previous season.

Huh?

Now before we all go ballistic on the lack of attention domestic violence gets in general and within professional sports organizations in particular, please understand that the issue is fraught with inconsistencies.  When arrested in Sandy Springs, Georgia the officers involved cited strangulation of Ozuna's estranged wife as the reason for the harsh treatment of the ballplayer.  

It was said he grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into a wall.  People who favor the protection of spousal rights were pleased to see the player being treated properly for what he had done. 


However, as the investigation into the incident evolved over the course of the next few months, it appeared that the bodycam footage from the cops did not match the reported assessment of what was initially reported.  While no one disputes that violence took place, it turns out that there was no strangulation as stated by the police officers involved.  

Hands-on-throat would have elevated criminal charges into the felony category.  What eventually was charged was battery and simple assault.  That change of severity was done during legal negotiations, though the police still stand by their initial actions. 

Many people are quick to jump on the bandwagon of folks who cite statistics that reveal people of color are often charged for higher level offenses in the hopes that they will plea bargain down to accepting a lesser charge.  

This issue is not one of conservative or liberal, but a matter of court records with many compiled examples of this technique being commonplace among many police departments.  The fact that the bodycam footage doesn't jibe with what was cited suggests that Ozuna's camp may have a point.  

What is interesting is the law in the state of Georgia which suggests that Ozuna was more at fault than perhaps he was.  The witness to the assault was not the victim as might have been expected, but the officers who arrived on the scene after the 911 call.  Even if his estranged wife chose not to testify, in Georgia the police accounts would remain in effect.  Consequently, the difficulty in clearing Ozuna's name where the assault took place would have jumped significantly.  

To make an already very long story shorter, suffice to say that with the lesser charges given, Ozuna is not going to spend 20 years in jail as would have happened had the police officer's tale proven to be true.  That change brings us back to the original issue of how baseball is handling domestic violence.  

Jose Reyes, Roberto Osuna and others did not receive any jail time and baseball chose to provide suspensions that ranged in duration from 8 games to 162 games.  


Now where you stand on the Marcell Ozuna case must be evaluated by Rob Manfred's decision.  He essentially is saying Ozuna has already served time and slamming his estranged wife into the wall is worth 20 games already served.  It seems light, but at the same time it also appears that the original charges were not legitimate.  

How do you feel about the way in which baseball handles domestic violence?

3 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

Apparently his wife had been arrested previously for throwing a soap dish at his face, causing lacerations.

The video did show him with his hand on her neck in the foyer, as they both stood there with a 3ed party (his brother?) but it did not appear he was trying to choke her. Still inappropriate.

A mess, but I think 20 games suspension is sufficient. And staying a million miles away from each other.

Did he not also lose his 2021 salary after the May incident? Assuming he did, his losses are very substantial. He may wish to remain a celibate bachelor.

Each incident has to be case by case, as each is unique.

RDS900 said...

Too often we jump to conclusions without knowing all the facts.

Paul Articulates said...

Very touchy subject here, and as Reese mentioned, we don't know all the facts so it is dangerous to speculate.

Baseball has imposed rules and associated punishments for behavior that damages the integrity of the sport. PED use creates inequitable performance, which impacts the integrity of the sport, and therefore carries a substantial penalty.

The same can be said for criminal behavior - any criminal behavior. Any player convicted of criminal behavior should be penalized severely by MLB because the players are the face of baseball. This is where I draw the line, though. MLB should not become a replacement for the US Judicial system. If MLB tries to become judge and jury on domestic violence, then what about other crimes? How do they resource a full investigative service, and how do they try the accused? It's a slippery slope. Let the law do their job, and if a player is convicted then they should face MLB discipline based on the outcome.