Domestic Violence Has No Place in Sports

Domestic violence is certainly not a new issue and clearly is one that has gained considerable national attention in recent times because of high-profile cases involving professional athletes.

Had I talked about this a day earlier I would have likely said the most recent case centered around the Dallas Cowboys Greg Hardy but now comes a story involving baseball player Jose Reyes, a former Met who is now with the Colorado Rockies. Reyes was recently arrested on domestic abuse allegations in Hawaii with the story going public Monday.

According to reports he grabbed his wife by the throat and shoved her into a sliding glass door of the hotel they were staying in on Maui. He was arrested and released on bail while his wife was taken to a local hospital with injuries to her thigh, neck and wrist. You can be sure Major League Baseball will be monitoring the situation because they announced a new domestic violence policy just three months ago in which the commissioner has the authority to hand down discipline in instances like this.

Let me jump back to the case involving Hardy who beat his then girlfriend pretty good in 2014 and is only eligible to play because she refused to testify in a re-trial with many believing he paid her to be silent. He was suspended by the NFL for ten games but that was reduced to four by a gutless arbitrator and in search of a team along came Dallas.

In all honesty his behavior and attitude so far this season has been questionable at best and over the weekend disturbing pictures surfaced of the bruises the 6’4, 280 pound had Hardy inflicted on Nicole Holder. The Cowboys insist they had not seen those pictures before and team owner Jerry Jones was quoted as saying Hardy has become a true team leader and a player others follow. Simply another reason to root against America’s Team.

Domestic violence involving pro athletes is always going to be magnified…just ask Ray Rice. Of course only a small percentage of athletes have ever been accused but there is guilt by association which is why they have to speak up like the Eagles Jason Kelce who after playing against Hardy Sunday told a reporter “I’m glad he didn’t have a good day, it’s a joke a guy like this is able to play this quickly.”

In October the NFL goes pink in support of breast cancer awareness which is noble. If teams and players really want to show the women in their lives they have their backs then take a stand against domestic violence whose awareness month ironically is also October. It should start with the Cowboys parting company with Hardy immediately but don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen.