Bud Selig: MLB, players union to meet on domestic abuse policy
By Phil Watson
Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, in the wake of the NFL’s ongoing issues with domestic violence, reportedly has scheduled a meeting with the Major League Baseball Players Association to come to agreement on a policy for handling such cases.
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Selig told USA Today that MLB has to establish a formal disciplinary procedure for any future cases and that such a policy would have to be approved by the union.
In a statement, Selig said:
"“I constantly say that baseball is a social institution with very important social responsibilities. Domestic violence is one of the worst forms of societal conduct. We understand the responsibility of baseball to quickly and firmly address off-field conduct by our players, even potentially in situations in which the criminal justice system does not do so.“I am proud that baseball disciplinary standards have changed over time, as is evidenced by our drug program, to ensure we are handling such situations sensitively and firmly in the manner expected by our fans, while at the same time providing due process to those accused of wrongdoing.“We are meeting with the Players Association this week to thoroughly discuss the issue of domesticv violence and how it should be addressed under our Basic Agreement going forward.”"
Two ways to look at this: 1) Kudos to MLB for being proactive and learning from the mistakes of another league or 2) How in the world did MLB—and other professional sports leagues—get to the middle of the second decade of the 21st century without thinking having something on the books to deal with domestic violence?
This also comes in the wake of Selig saying last week that he “can’t remember when the last time” baseball had a domestic-violence related issue.
Of course, Everth Cabrera of the San Diego Padres was charged with domestic violence in 2012, though the charges were later dropped, and Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox had a long list of domestic violence incidents—some series—in the not-so-distant past.