Major League Baseball will not suspend Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig in connection to domestic violence allegations earlier this winter, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Per Shaikin, the league found no evidence to substantiate allegations that Puig hit his sister in an incident at a Miami bar in November. Notably, no charges were filed against Puig and no arrests were made at the time. Shaikin notes that under the newly implemented domestic violence policy, players can receive discipline other than suspensions (e.g. mandatory counseling), but such discipline is not disclosed to the public. Earlier this month, ESPN’s Pedro Gomez reported that Puig was not expected to receive a suspension. Major League Baseball has since issued the following statement:
“The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball has concluded its investigation into an alleged incident involving Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig and his sister in a Miami-area nightclub on November 26, 2015. The investigation included interviews of witnesses, including Puig and his sister, as well as a review of video footage from inside the nightclub at the time of the alleged incident. The Office of the Commissioner’s investigation did not uncover any witness who supported the assault allegation; both Puig and his sister denied that an assault occurred; and the available video evidence did not support the allegation. Thus, barring the receipt of any new information or evidence, no discipline will be imposed on Puig in connection with the alleged incident.”
TMZ reported in late November that Puig had shoved his sister at the bar, prompting a fight between Puig and the bouncer. However, a police spokesperson said at the time that it appeared the only physical contact came between Puig and the bouncer, and TMZ ultimately retracted its report, Shaikin notes.
The ruling from commissioner Rob Manfred comes not long after Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman was suspended for 30 games under the domestic violence policy. While Chapman, like Puig, was not arrested and did not face charges, the left-hander did acknowledge that after being shoved to the ground by his girlfriend’s brother, he discharged a firearm in his garage multiple times out of frustration. That Chapman acted in such a manner undoubtedly contributed to the league’s decision to give him a 30-game ban despite a clear lack of evidence that he physically harmed his girlfriend.
Puig and Chapman represent two of the three offseason cases for Manfred and the new domestic violence policy. Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes, accused of assaulting his wife at a Hawaii hotel in October, is the last remaining case. He has been placed on administrative leave and is set to head to trial on Opening Day. The league will not make a decision on Reyes’ discipline until after his criminal proceedings have drawn to a close.
Even though I dislike Puig, they made the right call on this one. Im surprised it took this long from the report until now to fully dismiss it.
Luckily for Puig and the Dodgers, he didn’t respond the same way Tony Montana did when his kid sister acted up in the club, thus making a suspension unnecessary…go Dodgers, the world is yours!!!
What a joke
How do you figure?
in what regard sir?
Its a joke that they didn’t suspend someone they had no evidence on?
It’s strange that Chapman was given 30 days on nothing more than a non-legallt binding admittance. I figured that set the bar. Now where to go when a player like Reyes is actually convicted. Looks like Chapman should have just played dumb.
Too many witness on the Chapman thing for him to plausibly deny his behavior.
Chapman popped off 8 shots…Puig did not. Chapman is lucky he only got 30 days
It was a fact “some sort” of incident went down and he fired his gun off 8 times in his garage. Hmmmmmm nothing wrong there.
I’m not making a case for leniency on Chapman..just more that the legal facts don’t matter in mlb. It’s never taken a conviction.
So? That’s nothing new for any sport. Even the Black Sox were legally acquitted (although they probably wouldn’t have been had their confessions not “disappeared”).
That may not be entirely accurate. It’s just that Puig’s “shots” would’ve been of the alcoholic variety.
Wouldn’t take a conviction for your employer, either, depending upon the circumstances.
Frankly I thought Puig deserved a few days off just for behaving like a jerk in public, but it seems what happened was not covered by this policy.
I don’t wanna jump to conclusions but based on your username, I’m guessing you’re a bitter yankee fan? I mean don’t get me wrong, 30 games seemed a tad steep for Chapman but still, they had a much more substantive case against him then against Puig
Considering Chapman fired off his gun in anger after a fight(argument) w/ his g/f to me warranted that length of a suspension. It sends a message that he needs…his actions were reckless and very well caused injury to someone inc himself….I hope that he is to take some anger Mgt classes also to help him learn a better way to cope w/ his anger…
**very well could have caused***
I would be very surprised if Chapman’s penalty did not also include mandatory counseling, but since that part of the commissioner’s ruling is confidential, we will probably never know.
If you are disciplined under the policy – a form of counseling or meeting with counsellors is mandatory.
Not according to the policy.
“A player’s Treatment Plan may require him to submit to psychological evaluations, attend counseling sessions, comply with court orders …”
May. Probably in most cases will happen but still not mandatory.
Puig forever, I hope he aims at Goose Gossage when flips his bat into the stands after a hard hit fly out.
Likewise.
Then I’d like Kirk Gibson to stand over him with a few dist pumps for good measure.
Pug wasn’t behaving very nicely, but MLB seems to have handled it properly with what they were given.
Really curious how the Reyes thing plays out. What is more likely, a Puig result, a Chapman result, or an ARod result?
They actually have evidence for that one. And it doesn’t look pretty. He’s probably going to get A rod treatment probably more severe. That situation is not going to be pretty at all. Although, I’m interested to see if he gets a plea deal that knocks the severity of the charges or they throw the book at him.
An arrest is what they have on Reyes, and whatever police record that goes along with it. If he’s convicted at trial, he’s done in baseball (or at least should be). Even if acquitted, he’s looking at 50 games, minimum.
Certainly an Arod treatment. Like others have said, Reyes is in much hotter water than even Chapman was, so he’ll be getting the harshest punishment.
I just don’t understand how Chapman gets a 30 game suspension and Puig gets nothing. Seems like basically the exact same situation.
Puigs wasn’t domestic violence, it was a confrontation with a bouncer. And he didn’t fire 8 shots as well
Except for the fact that chapman fired a gun as to where push didn’t
They really aren’t similar at all. Chapman occurred at home, with his girlfriend, and he fired a gun. Puig was in a bar dispute with his sister, there’s apparently no evidence of any physical interaction with her and no suggestion of a weapon. All he really did was scuffle with a bouncer, which wouldn’t be subject to the domestic violence policy.
Now that the commissioner has ruled on the policy, the team can decide whether they want to sanction the player for behavior not covered by the policy. No indication that the Dodgers will bench Puig, but they could.
same as they are both Cuban? lol totally different situation
The % of domestic violence seems high among athletes, but may just fall in-line with the overall population, I’m not investing time in comparing. But, maybe the NFL, NBA, MLB should mandate some anger management sessions or something of that ilk for all players coming into the league. You have a lot of guys that have entitlement issues and money.
Bottom line: MLB got it right on BOTH 2 this point, gr8 job! Chapman deserved what he got, 30 games, Puig was cleared! Prediction by me,Reyes will get, I’d say, 50 games! In Hawaii, I might b wrong here, u hit a woman or a loved 1, it’s 10 years in jail, BUT, since Reyes is NOT,repeat, not a citizen of the USA< he could b deported to the DR! (See Slava Voynov of the LA Kings)!