Reese Kaplan -- A Player Trying to Make it Big Shouldn't Act Small

Many of you have heard the news about prospect Khalil Lee being charged by his former beloved of spousal domestic abuse. It is unfortunately not a new story in sports (or in life, for that matter) and it continually confounds me how someone can treat another human being in this manner when you claim to love the other person.

Many are advocating the Mets do a little investigation of their own and if there is substance to the allegation that they sever ties with the man both as a show of support for doing the right thing and getting a man off the 40-man roster whose performance didn't suggest he was going to be a star caliber player in the major league.

When Lee was quoted as saying, "How much is this going to cost to go away?" it seemed as if the handwriting was already on the wall.  Choking and abusing one's ex-girlfriend wouldn't result in police activity unless there was some substance to what was being charged.  Syracuse police have been diligent in corralling Lee and having him answer for his actions.

If the club was a bit deeper in outfield prospects it would be an easier move to make than it is right now, but AAAA outfielders are not all that difficult to find as teams make roster adjustments and spring training cuts. It might even breathe life into Darin Ruf for a chance to make back the money he essentially stole from the team for his abysmal 2022 performance.

Of course, these types of situations are not new for any team or for any business. The fact that the employees of the team have an ultra public personal makes it a bit more difficult to sweep such things under the rug. Still, teams have tried to do just that depending on the caliber of the player in question.

Going through the Mets' 60 year history of playing in the National League there were any number of other incidents that the team needed to address. During the 1986 championship year we found out about Doc Gooden, Darryl Strawberry and others having issues with both substance abuse and interpersonal relations.  Then there was that rape allegation, too...

Who can forget the whole Frankie Rodriguez fisticuffs with his family while in the clubhouse area? It resulted in his quick ouster from the roster and while he still had talent, no one really gave the Mets a hard time for making this type of hasty shove out the door for an undesirable element.

It's not just violence that creates public relations and media scorn headaches for a team. Remember the spring training incident with Mets' players urinating on a pizzeria? Neither Shane Spencer nor Karim Garcia suited up for the team anymore.

Then there was the Brett Saberhagen incident with spraying bleach in a super soaker at reporters who were not members of his personal fan club. It was not the first time for the pitcher who also had thrown firecrackers at the media in the past.

Vince Coleman set off an explosion at Dodger Stadium which required him to face legal charges for the incident. He was never anyone's favorite player and despite his prodigious running talents, no one was crying a river after he got repercussions for his actions.

Any of us Mets fans can go on and on about players who didn't conduct themselves in a professional manner or who deserved serious repercussions for what they had done. What happened with Lee is not going to be the last incident that will ever occur with men the team employs, but the actions the Mets take can help send a message to other players that violence and other criminal activities will not be tolerated.