MARCH 26: Wright is headed to the 10-day disabled list after receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection in his surgically repaired left knee, Drellich tweets. As mentioned below, he won’t be able to serve his suspension until he comes off the DL.
MARCH 23: Red Sox righty Steven Wright has been suspended for 15 games under the MLB-MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy, as Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston first reported. It is believed that Wright will decline to appeal the suspension, Drellich adds.
The suspension relates to a mid-December incident in Tennessee in which Wright was arrested and charged with domestic assault and prevention of a 911 call. So far as is known publicly, Wright has not been accused of any physical harm to his wife or any other household members; rather, in a statement at the time, the family called it a “verbal argument” in a “situation” that “was purely emotional.”
Not long after, the case against Wright was “retired,” meaning the criminal case is on track to be dismissed so long as Wright does not commit any infractions in the next year. He has told reporters that he and his wife are participating in joint counseling.
Of course, those facts do not necessarily mean that Wright did not commit an act that is subject to discipline under the policy. Clearly, commissioner Rob Manfred found that he did, as he is entitled to do without respect to whether charges are ever filed or pursued in court.
Here’s the full definition from the policy itself:
“Domestic violence includes, but is not limited to, physical or sexual violence, emotional and/or psychological intimidation, verbal violence, stalking, economic control, harassment, physical intimidation, or injury. Notwithstanding this definition, a single incident of abusive behavior in any intimate relationship, or a single incident of abusive behavior involving a female member of a Player’s family who is domiciled with him, may subject a Player to discipline under this Policy.”
Manfred is vested with broad authority to issue punishments upon finding a violation. As Drellich notes, this 15-game term coincides with the shortest prior suspension issued to this point, that of Mets reliever Jeurys Familia. Wright, who may open the year on the DL owing to a knee injury, will serve the suspension once he is at full health.
WTF
People can be horrible
I don’t understand your point.
3 starts. Hopefully he will be fully healthy and not just “healthy enough” when he has to sit them out. Red Sox might be better off with Brian Johnson getting the starts anyway.
As a Yankees fan, I’d rather see Wright lol. As a baseball fan, Johnson looked sharp today against the Yankees. Not a flamethrower, but has a lot of movement.
Wright is extremely valuable assuming his knee is ok. He eats innings and saves the bullpen. Exactly what a number five starter is supposed to do. Johnson has looked good but remember it’s spring training. When all starters are healthy, he’ll be in the pen. Sox already have Sale, Price, Pomerantz and Rodriguez as lefties in the rotation when healthy.
15 games.. But case was dropped. What do you guys think?
Fitting punishment?
We don’t know enough of what happened but if he’s not appealing, his silence sends a message. He supposedly is recovering well from the surgery. Put him on the roster now to get the time used up provided Rodriguez or Pomerantz don’t start the year on the DL. At last word, it looked good for ER.
Nobody knows. We can’t have an accurate opinion when we don’t know the facts
Totally agree with you JD but again his not appealing suggests something wrong happened.
Nah, if you are suspended it’s just easier to serve it now especially this time of year….how do you fight something that includes “verbal violence” in it’s language?
I’m guessing there was a police report made and it stated that he initially tried to stop his wife from making a call to the cops. I’m on the fence with this. Is he being suspended for having a heated argument with his spouse that wasn’t physical? If so then I think it’s unwarranted. But then again I’m sure we don’t know much about the situation.
This is the most rational answer one can give about the situation.
Emotional abuse is still abuse!
Yeah, but it takes two to have an argument or fight. Remember Tawny Kitaen going bat crap crazy with her high heel shoe at former major league pitcher Chuck Finley? Just saying, if this was just a verbal spat and a first time instance, I don’t agree with the penalty. If there is a history of arguments and/or it got physical, I can agree with it. Devil is in the details!
Blocking his wife from calling 911 is physical violence.
The case wasn’t dropped. It was “retired”. Different definition.
I dont have a problem with suspending him for 3 starts if he went aggro and stopped his wife from leaving/calling 911, assuming that is the case.
The real point is that pro athletes are physically strong specimens compared to the average person.
Even in a non-violent domestic dispute, there’s a level of intimidation that will always be there. Nipping that in the bud could prevent future incidents from occurring that could be potentially worse.
A micro punishment makes sense in this case, considering he was arrested at the time and hasn’t appealed the suspension.
It’s more about the exposure than the suspension… the embarrassment.
The cops were called so obviously it was more than just an argument.
Cops get called for absolutely nothing all the time.
I lived in a duplex underneath some tweakers once. Had to call the cops about once a week.
Snitches get stitches!
Is the word female really written down in the policy? I would think a gay ballplayer who beat up his boyfriend should probably face the same punishment.
I did not include every bit of language, obviously. This sentence precedes the one I quoted:
“[Domestic violence] occurs in heterosexual and same sex relationships and impacts individuals from all economic, educational, cultural, age, gender, racial, and religious demographics.”
Thanks Jeff
So chapman gets over 30 games, so did Jose Reyes. But Steven Wright is only given 15. MLB is a joke when it comes to this stuff.
I would encourage you to review the facts — at least so far as were known publicly — and the statements from the league in those cases. There were differences.
Thanks Steve. It’s not fair for fans to take potshots without the same facts as those investigating have. As I posted earlier, his not appealing is most likely revealing.
I agree, Mike.
How many guns did Chapman discharge? How many guns did Wright discharge? None? That’s right. There is your extra 15 games.
There is a difference between battery and assault.
Chapman fired a gun.
Just to add a known fact. Chapman fired a gun in that incident. MLB tends to be fairly thorough in their investigations from what we have seen recently but again, we don’t know all the facts for this particular instance.
So a shouting match can lead to a 15 game suspension…..really…….that’s just wrong
Didn’t know you were there and know all the details
I wasn’t there, but the fact that the policy includes ” verbal violence” is troubling.
We do not know all the details, but what is “verbal violence”?
Is it, as kingbum alleges, merely a shouting match?
If that’s the case my SO and I have engaged in “verbal violence” over the years.
OTOH, if verbal violence refers to threats, I would think that a threat is covered under psychological intimidation.
My point is “verbal violence” is ambiguous enough a term to be twisted to mean whatever the commissioner as judge and jury wants it to mean.
I’m surprised the union didn’t press for a more specific definition.
Exactly why I said a shouting match, What’s to stop an vindictive ex from calling the league office and saying that a player verbally assaulted them. It can even be made up what’s the burden of proof? Just seems like a reputation can be destroyed for so little, thanks to Ray Rice.
Ray Rice is on camera assaulting his wife. It was a brutal beating. I’m not sure what that has to do with this.
We’ll have to wait until the next episode of Cops to find out the details.
Like I said before ! Emotional abuse is still abuse!
So….. he got 15 games for yelling at or threatening his wife and Sano got nothing? Nice….
You were there. You know the details? Please share.
Obviously the police were involved in one substantiated case, and the police were not called in the other unsubstantiated case. Kind of just have to roll with what we’re able to discern from reading about these things without being unduly opinionated about them.
Considering one was accused of assault and the other was accused of battery, yes, we can discern the difference.
I have no idea what you mean.
There was more evidence against Wright than against Sano.
I doubt Sano would try to have all of the Apple Store sex like that article seems to claim he did. Just doesn’t seem credible in my mind.
He blocked his wife from calling 911. That is physical violence. Not as bad as beating someone, but it is violence.
Joe Torre still wearing his navy pinstriped panties.
Yelling at your wife gets you suspended. Guys, stay single till you are retired from MLB like Jeter did
I thought I remembered the police statement as saying it was solely a verbal altercation
Your right it does, but as the policy states “verbal violence” is subject to discipline.
It’s a stupid policy, but so isn’t “economic control”! So if the player refuses to give his wife money to get her nails done or a new pair of shoes, that could be subject to discipline as well..?
True and unfortunate.
That language of the definition is an authoritative mess.
And yet 99.9 percent of the league’s players manage to stay on the right side of the rule.
This isn’t as difficult as some of you guys are making it.
Who said it was difficult? My difficulty is with the ambiguous policy as written, not with the facts of this case – little of which are known by anybody posting on this board.
What a joke and a reach to be PC in our world of sissies. I can see it now, right before playoffs women accuse 6 of the New York Yankees of being yelled out during dates and having half the team suspended for the playoffs
Why would they get suspended? The league would do an investigation and find out it didn’t happen.
But it’s ok, keep defending domestic violence
JDGoat, it’s not defending domestic violence. It’s identifying acts that are NOT domestic violence. Have you ever had a verbal argument with your significant other? If you have you should be suspended from your job without pay.
Frankly, I don’t think anybody knows what was said or in what manner. Given that charges were pressed, and that the suspension was handed down (and won’t be appealed), it seems unlikely that it was just a typical shouting match. Beyond that, I don’t see much cause to speculate.
Well, Jeff, if he had physically assaulted her, I would think that they would have filed assault charges.
No one here was there. so we don’t know.
However, I think the folks here who question the suspension when there was apparently no Physical violence involved raise legitimate POVs.
The “verbal violence” troubles me too,, especially from a civil liberties standpoint.
I’ve had some arguments with my wife where voices were raised however, it’s never gotten to point where she felt the need to call the police. Obviously none of us were there, but in this case Mrs. Wright felt the need to call the police during their argument and he apparently thought that was a bad idea and attempted to stop her. He also has decided against appealing the league’s suspension and is now in counseling. I’m not really sure why some think his suspension is unwarranted. From what is publicly known, to me it sounds like a bad situation.
psychological abuse is real, traumatic, widespread.
people can be tortured, controlled, destroyed, and eventually die from stress-related ailments and never have a person touch them.
do just a little bit of research and you will understand why domestic violence definitions include non-physical acts in their scope.
Perfect comments Jeff. People please move on to other articles. I for one am done with this. Speculating or gossiping needs to please stop.
Hopefully this will happen to you one day and your employer suspends you without pay. I know someone who had to leave their home for 3 weeks and only got back when their 14 year old daughter testified to a judge that mom threw things at dad and he locked himself in her bedroom which she hurt herself trying to break the door down – then claimed he did it to her
Sticks and stones. Grow up.
Yep, that’s the major problem with this. Civil liberties can clearly be violated. Profession aside, anywhere that has a similar application of investigation and punishment are crossing the line. First ammendment rights can be violated.
Not without an investigation! Are you really that dense?
Verbal argument? Yes. Had to keep my wife from calling 911 over one of them? Hell no.
I’m glad Wright and his wife seem to be working through whatever happened, but those acting like this was a garden variety marital spat seem to be missing the bigger picture.
It is not “verbal violence.” He blocked her from making a phone call. That is the very definition of physical violence.
Steven Wright was charged in a Tennessee court with domestic assault and preventing a 911 call, according to media reports.
The charges were not dismissed but merely “retired” pending Wright’s good behavior and completion of counseling, again according to media reports. My understanding is that the charges can be brought back if Wright fails to fulfill the conditions of the agreement.
I suspect MLB considered various accounts of the incident and rendered its decision to suspend Wright for 15 games.
Wright’s attorney contended there was no physical violence. That may or may to be true, but after police find probable cause to make an arrest the prosecution is rarely dropped just because the accused professes innocence.
I hope Wright and his family are undergoing a healing process.
Sorry muskie73 but you are wrong. I’m a private investigator that is hired by defense attorneys to conduct investigations on the alleged charges against their client (defendant). I can assure you the prosecution will re-access at the dispositional conference and often times offer a favorable plea or drop the charges if the facts of the case are weak or questionable. No one likes to lose cases and the prosecution is no different.
Sano should be banned from baseball for life
Why? Because of one accusation that had no evidence backing up it up?
When can we expect Bruce Maxwell’s suspension to be formally announced?
Oh no! My favorite comedian–suspended!
Thought he’d beat it
Punishing someone for yelling? I’m not happy to hear that he was yelling at his spouse so viciously but to suspend Wright for yelling? Wow.
I guess yelling has become a punishable offense, so maybe we’ll see fans at games behaving more like a golf gallery in coming seasons, and the announcers should also speak with an inside voice. So in the future when at a game instead of yelling, “YOU SUCK!!!” when Panda goes 0 for 25, fans are encouraged to make comment in a pleasant tone, “Gentle player, it has come to my attention that your performance could use a bit of improvement. I’m sure you are already aware of this, so please take this comment as words of encouragement. Have a nice day .”
In addition to the domestic violence charge, Steven Wright was charged with preventing a 911 call.
Charges, yes. Convictions no.
I’d like all these guys to be suspended forever. Reyes, Wright, Cabrera, Chapman, etc,
Especially Chapman. Can’t say I know the situations on each guy you mentioned but I do know Chapmans stories and that dude sounds like a real POS.
What ever happened to freedom of speech..??
I wasn’t going to respond again but GB’s post warrants a clarification. The first amendment guarantees the right to express your thoughts generally speaking in public but you cannot verbally abuse nor can you again generally speaking defame or libel someone. Sadly the courts seem to allow exceptions for Internet posts and tweets.
I am not sure what the first amendment has to do with spousal abuse. But there are all kinds of restrictions on speech, from libel and slander to yelling “fire” in a movie theater. But this has nothing to do with that, in any way. This is abuse, plain and simple.
With respect to your employer and/or MLB in this case there are no free speech rights. Free speech issues specifically lie between an individual and government attempts to suppress. Even then there are obvious limitations. Why are so many people unable to understand this simple issue.
Knuckleballs & Knuckle Sandwiches. Disgusting.
Having come from an abusive family I am strongly against any kind of domestic abuse. However let me say that with out all the facts I am not condemning anyone. But I will als9 say words can do as much damage as fist just in a different way.
This guy just won’t stop getting hurt and getting suspended
The moment I think he’s actually decent, JE GETS HURT
I think the best thing MLB or any other sports organization could do is to simply stay out of it all together. Let the police and justice system take care of ALL off field incidents. You know like every other employer does.
This happened so long ago, why did it take so long to dole out this punishment?