Earlier today MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred issued a 30-game suspension to New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman for his involvement in a domestic dispute earlier this offseason. Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig is up next as he was one of three players involved in such incidents this offseason.
And Manfred needs to suspend Puig if he wants to show consistency in his rulings under the MLB's new domestic violence policy.
A few weeks ago Manfred said he "expected some action" in at least two out of the three domestic violence cases. Colorado Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes has already been placed on leave and Chapman is now sidelined for 30 games.
Did Manfred mean action was only coming in two out of the three cases, or did he mean only two out of the three cases would be settled "in the next few days"?
Both cases involving Chapman and Puig are unsettling based on the allegations, and if Manfred deemed Chapman's actions punishable under his discretion, then there should be little reason as to why he wouldn't issue a ban for Puig.
Chapman was accused of pushing and grabbing his girlfriend by the throat when the two were engaged in an argument. It's not clear what transpired because only Chapman and his girlfriend provided their sides of the story and zero witnesses cooperated with authorities. Police found no marks on Chapman's girlfriend when they arrived at the scene and nobody was arrested.
What we know for sure is that Chapman went into his garage after the incident and fired multiple gunshots into a wall, which he admitted, but was also not disciplined for by law enforcement.
The police closed Chapman's case and about a month later it was announced criminal charges would not be filed against the MLB veteran.
Manfred perhaps felt strongly enough that Chapman's mere association with such a troubling incident warranted a sizable suspension even though there was no concrete evidence to prove he committed any wrongdoing. Understandably, Manfred wanted to make a powerful statement in his rulings for these domestic violence incidents to show that the MLB unequivocally does not condone such behavior, especially after the NFL botched their one chance to bring down the hammer with Ray Rice.
However, if Manfred is going to punish players that are absolved of any wrongdoing by the law, then Puig needs to be sidelined for a portion of the 2016 season. Fair is fair.
Like Chapman, Puig's case was closed and it was determined criminal charges would not be filed against him following his incident in a Miami bar. The Dodgers outfielder allegedly shoved his sister when the two were arguing in the bar. Puig then allegedly "got physical" with a number of other employees after they got involved after watching him argue with his sister and sucker-punched one of the bouncers at the bar
In Puig's case, unlike Chapman's, there were actually multiple reports that were conflicting since police determined that the only physical altercation that occurred was between Puig and the bouncer. Even so, is this not something subject to discipline, especially with Puig's uneasy off-field reputation?
If Puig technically wasn't involved in a "domestic dispute," then he should be disciplined under the league's "Just Cause" policy, which states, "The Parties recognize that a Player may be subjected to disciplinary action for just cause by his Club, the Senior Vice President, Standards and On-Field Operations or the Commissioner. Therefore, in Grievances regarding discipline, the issue to be resolved shall be whether there has been just cause for the penalty imposed."
Violence against women and children is as low and despicable as it gets, but the league should not only be suspending players for involvement in such incidents. Violence in general should be condemned by those who have the power to discipline, so Puig shouldn't be getting a free pass here.
MLB sources say Puig is not expected to be suspended, but I think Manfred should certainly re-think that, especially after his statements about nonprosecution.
"Let's begin with two things in terms of nonprosecution. There's lots of reasons for nonprosecution, right? Not all of them relate to the underlying facts. It may be unavailability or unwillingness of witnesses to participate, and that makes the cases difficult.
"Secondly, the [domestic violence] policy is pretty explicit. The fact that law enforcement decides that it either is not going to - or cannot, because of a lack of proof - proceed doesn't mean that discipline is not appropriate. The policy is very explicit about that. Remember the standards of proof in a labor arbitration and a criminal case are very different."
Those provisions should be made clear under any policy in which a player is involved in a questionable off-field incident, not just the domestic violence policy.
Whether Puig shoved his sister, sucker-punched a bouncer, or got physical with multiple restaurant employees, that behavior is not acceptable and should not be overlooked simply because it's not a high-profile case in which the ruling could potentially upset a lot of people and make the MLB look irresponsible.
