Mets reliever Jeurys Familia will receive a 15-game suspension under the league’s domestic violence policy, as Billy Witz of the New York Times first reported (links to Twitter). Familia has agreed to accept those terms, per the league’s announcement.
The decision comes after months of speculation. Familia was arrested last fall on charges of assaulting his wife, but the charges were dropped upon his wife’s request. That did not preclude action under the domestic violence policy, however, which oes not require arrest, charges, or a conviction for the commissioner to impose a suspension.
In addition to the lost time, Familia has agreed to make a charitable donation and speak with league rookies. He already completed a dozen counseling sessions over the offseason. The suspension will cost Familia at least $730K, per Witz, based upon his $7.425MM arbitration salary.
Familia’s 15-game suspension is half that received last year by Aroldis Chapman after his charges were dismissed. In this case, commissioner Rob Manfred found that the evidence “does not support a determination that Mr. Familia physically assaulted his wife, or threatened her or others with physical force or harm.” While “inappropriate” action was still found, evidently it did not rise to the level present in Chapman’s case (in which he brandished a firearm). Manfred’s statement also stresses Familia’s actions in the wake of the incident, noting that he “received a favorable evaluation from the counselor regarding his willingness to take concrete steps to ensure that he is not involved in another incident of this type.”
In his own statement, Familia emphasized that he “never physically touched, harmed or threatened my wife” on the night in question. But he also acknowledged that he acted in an “unacceptable manner” and took full responsibility. “I am alone to blame for the problems of that evening,” he stated, adding that he has “taken meaningful steps to assure that nothing like this will ever happen again.”
Players union too good once again
helping verbs absent once again
An appeal ? Familia should thank his lucky stars for that figurative slap on the wrist.
Cue the “nothing was proven” commenters…. To whom I say “”Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” Victims are victims whether they come forward or not. They’re the ones needing support, not the evasive perpetrator.
This promotes a bad image for baseball, Mr. Commissioner.
So being accused should get you a major suspension? Lol thats not how anything works
From the subsequent addition to the original article, which mentioned a possible appeal:
“That did not preclude action under the domestic violence policy, however, which does not require arrest, charges, or a conviction for the commissioner to impose a suspension.”
Evidently that IS how something works. The penalty was just way too light.
How is it too light? My fiancee is a victim of yrs of horrific physical abuse by her ex-husband, so I am all for stronger punishment. But, Familia didn’t touch her, didn’t wave a loaded firearm at her, & didn’t then go unload a clip into garage wall; which, to this day, we don’t know the relation of Garage to location of where he waved it around. That’s huge to me, cuz there’s scenarios where he should’ve been done for yr or more. That’s what the evidence showed, its a very slippery slope if we start hanging people just for accusations.
You can’t just go by “where there’s smoke there’s fire”. Evidence is needed to support the claim that he needs a more severe punishment. That’s how the American justice system works. Innocent until proven guilty
But this isn’t the american justice system. This is a private company; they can create their own rules and they do. For example, gossiping isn’t against the law. If you are a therapist and you gossip about your patients you will and should get fired
actually, it is against the HIPAA law for therapists to discuss their patient’s issues with others.
Aroldis Chapman got a 30-day suspension and he didn’t even get arrested. Familia did.
good point, familia was arrested and should have gotten a bigger suspension
He also admitted to firing a hand gun in his garage out of anger. That is what he was suspended for.
I must’ve missed the part in the CBA which bans anger and/or firing weapons.
No, he was suspended under the Domestic Abuse Policy. I don’t think there’s a clause in there regarding firing weapons in your garage.
The two situationweren’t the same at all and there’s no way to draw comparisons. Familia’s charge was dropped and expunged! Again if was expunged. Chapman also was suspended for firing a gun. That being said I’m guessing there was absolutely no evidence.
Forfeiting $730k, missing almost a tenth of the season, and 18 hours of anger management is considered “light” to you?
Oh goodness, 18 whole hours of classes? That’s like, what, three days? I feel terrible for this poor multi-millionaire who just needed to put his woman in line, and look how everybody reacts.
Manfred made the following comments in a statement released by MLB:
“I asked my staff to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the incident involving Aroldis Chapman on October 30, 2015. Much of the information regarding the incident has been made public through documents released by law enforcement. Mr. Chapman submitted to an in-person interview with counsel present. After reviewing the staff report, I found Mr. Chapman’s acknowledged conduct on that day to be inappropriate under the negotiated Policy, particularly his use of a firearm and the impact of that behavior on his partner. I am gratified that Mr. Chapman has taken responsibility for his conduct, that he has agreed not to appeal the 30-game suspension, and that he has agreed to comply with the confidential directives of the Joint Policy Board established under the parties’ Policy to ensure that a similar incident does not occur in the future.”
cbssports.com/mlb/news/aroldis-chapman-suspended-3…
Chapman did more than fire the gun. In that incident he also smashed a car window with his fist and got into an altercation.
Since when is firing a gun out of anger against the law? If you fire it at someone or hit someone or someone’s property there are laws against that. But firing a gun in any manner on your own property that is not harmful to a person or property is protected by the 2nd amendment. Not at all a fan of Chapman or what he did, I actually think he’s basically a p.o.s. for assaulting his wife but firing a gun should not in of itself matter.
Popping off in anger certainly should matter (a lot) though the law has nothing to do with what happened in the Chapman incident and the gun was by no means the only issue. The issue was the context of a domestic dispute in which Chapman was way out of hand. Players behaving this way is bad for the sport, which is why MLB and the MLBPA came up with the policy. Again, nothing to do with the law. Bringing that up only confuses the issue.
The 2nd amendment says literally nothing about firing a gun on your own property. It deals strictly with gun ownership. You can’t walk out in your porch and just fire a gun randomly.
….. where you live.
Umm you can where I live and we do it all the time.
Yes, agreed 100% about your post except for him part. Absolutely legal and fine for me to go out and shoot my gun in anger and frustration so long as it’s at a target or safe direction and doesn’t harm anyone or their property.
You sir, do not understand the second amendment in the slightest. How can it be legal to own a gun but not use it? It’s perfectly legal to own, and shoot, a gun. Once again, as long as it does not hurt anyone or their property.
He fired the gun out of anger following a domestic dispute, they go hand in hand. Domestic violence isn’t just the result of physically harming someone firing a gun out of anger with your significant other is much different than popping off a few rounds in the backyard.
And as it happens according to the police reports of the Chapman incident, one of the shots he fired in his garage went through a window. But I guess the argument goes that since it didn’t hit anyone his actions are not only protected by the Constitution but morally defensible. By this logic I suppose the same would be true if someone had a notion to fire a gun into a crowded room. It’s okay so long as the person is a poor shot.
No. Firing a gun in a residential neighborhood is not protected by the 2nd amendment.
Also, genius, u can get arrested, but you’re still innocent until proven guilty, & def innocent until an investigation. This is not a Met -NYY thing it’s a “We need to start treating our Women the way we would treat our mother’s thing”
You don’t think waving a hand gun around in anger and then discharging it into the wall is sending a threatening message to his spouse? He may as well have said, “I COULD kill you” and he very well could have…There is a much larger issue in play than “anger and using a firearm.”
Compare this to Marissa Alexander who (in Florida) fired a “warning shot” because she was a victim of DV and received 20 years in jail! I think she was eventually released but I’m not 100% sure. It must be nice to have money in this country.
There was plenty of evidence. Because his wife didn’t press charges – which happens, sadly, often in DV cases for lots of unfortunate reasons – doesn’t mean anything. The dude did it.
I mean, OJ Simpson was found not guilty as well.
It’s so irritatingly common for someone to call in DV and then transform into an uncooperative complainant. It means nothing at all with regards to whether or not it happened, but it does make the charges disappear most of the time. Because of that, in some instances in some states, they require charges regardless of the victim’s wishes or level of cooperation.
It’s not irritating; it’s unfortunate. I used to work in Domestic Violence and all too often the people who had been assaulted/abused (almost always women) were dependent upon their abuser for financial reasons, a place to live, etc. I have no idea about Familia’s wife, but I can assume she makes far less money than her husband. Leaving him, pressing charges and going to court could be an absolute financial burden to her and any kids they might have.
It’s a lousy system that, in most states, is set up to protect abusers who have the upper hand financially. A few states allow authorities to press charges without cooperation from the person who has been abused, but there still is the problem of corroboration and witness testimony.
Sadly thar’s how far too much works
From my understanding the charges were expunged. Different than dropped.. expunged means the judge determined that the alleged incident did not take place in the eyes of the law.
nope. The wife refused to testify and there was no other witness. Not the same thing at all. Except Familia could afford a good lawyer.
No, a judge very specifically expunged the charges off the record. The charges no longer exist.
suspunsions should be reworked, especially for starting pitchers, relievers, and utility players.
Ya probably just for starters though in my opinion. A five game suspension which is usually what they get for their part in brawls is really only a 1 gamer
What about catchers?
as a Mets fan this is bs. Way to light, the MLB is a priveledge so whether or not he was found guilty or not (we all no all know dv cases tend to be dropped even though there was a crime.) Looks like New York is mlbs dv sanctuary city. Cant support this decision or the team with this one
Through the bevy of grammatical errors you can see my point
Can’t be better said.
There must be something in the investigation that makes it an appropriate suspension
This isn’t a court of law. Obviously there’s something in the police that says DV.
HE GOT AWAY WITHOUT PROPER PUNISHMENT.
I wish baseball would enforce their morals clause, stringently.
All the fake moral outrage is just funny. If he was on your favorite, you would be content with the 15 game suspension. Even worse, if it had been someone like Huston Street or Adam Wainwright in this position, you would all have nothing to say. Save you fake indignation.
Fake? Anyone on the team I support who does something as horrendous and gutless as dv, I would want them suspended (100 games) and then traded for a bag of hair.
If Adam wainwright did even a hint of a crime the outrage would be insane because everyone loves to bring the Cardinals and “good, clean, Christian players” down. Adam wainwright gives millions and time to charity, is good family man, gives back to community immensely and is the quintessential teammate. And you’re going to put him in same category as familia, Chapman, Reyes, etc. Really?
You have proven my point. Your biased view of a person colored your overreaction to what I posted. Read what I wrote, I never equated one with the other, all I simply said was “if it had been”. Bias works both ways, it can lead someone to be vilified or sanctified without having all the facts.
I am biased towards waino because he has done nothing to break any laws that have been publicized and if there was anything, believe me, we would all know. I am also biased against familia and Chapman and Reyes and others because I think domestic violence is disgusting. That bias is based on facts and not race, nationality, or anything of the sort.
Is this a not too subtle “You’re all racist” attempt?
Commissioner Rob Manfred found that the evidence “does not support a determination that Mr. Familia physically assaulted his wife, or threatened her or others with physical force or harm.” So what did Familia actually do that warrants a $735K fine and a 15-game suspension? And how are other players to know in the future what non-physical actions will or will not justify similar sanctions? It seems to me, from this obvious lack of transparency, like the Commissioner just makes it up as he goes along. Not the best way to educate the players.
Probably don’t act like a POS and get arrested is one thing players shouldn’t do
Given the information available and the length of the MLB investigation, this strikes me as fair. The suspension feels like the equivalent of a “Not Guilty” as opposed to “Innocent”.
I was wondering while reading Andy Marchand’s excellent ESPN piece on Michael Pineda and his difficulty with the learning English, to what extent a language barrier played a part in this incident..
Joke of a punishment and joke of a domestic abuse policy. Chapman gets 30 games and then gets millions and WS title, familia gets only 15 games probably get a huge trade if available or huge contract regardless. Nice job MLB. Atleast I know my favorite team steers clear of those type of players.
Carlos Martinez was being sued by a woman over abuse charges; LaRussa was arrested for passing out drunk at the wheel; Peralta was given a big contract coming off a steroid suspension. Yes… your favorite team steers clear of those types.
Don’t forget the FO’s misdeeds with the Astros.
I am so sick of this. It was one guy who acted alone and got fired. Get over it and come up with something new.
Don’t recall LaRussa being suspended… Looks like your beloved Cardinals are not as infallible as you want to believe.
The lawsuit for Martinez went no where, la Russa was punished by the law, and peralta did his punishment of 50 games and was forgiven. I’m not on here saying peralta shouldn’t have been punished. I am saying domestic abuse should be more than 15 game suspension especially when MLB is so public about a strict domestic abuse policy.
Read the MLB statement before forming your opinion. Their investigation found no evidence of abuse, hence a 15 game suspension is sufficient punishment. Facts are a wonderful thing.
slap on the wrist.
familia didnt “beat” the wrap.
I can’t wait for the wife beater to come into a game at Yankee stadium. We haven’t had this kind of a character to share our feelings about since Manny.
“TC” will probably pitch him for two innings and he will go on the DL afterwards.
Lol
ummm…doesn’t one (wife beater character) close for the Yanks? Direct your moral outrage there…
Old man problems… Every time I see a story about this guy, I initially read, “Jerry’s Family Receives 15-Game Suspension.” It takes me a minute to figure out, “Jerry who??”
Ha. Not that one.
Any Cubs fans who are on here saying anything about familia should think about how hypocritical they look if they were cheering for Chapman last October. Just saying
That’s a pretty random comment potentially aimed at no one.
Every time I see a Cardinal fan talk trash about Cubs fans, I respect Cubs fans a little more. You must be shaking in your boots worrying about if the Cubs will continue to dominate the NL Central for the next couple of years.
No team is immune to idiotic behavior. Just as no company in the world is immune to it. He did what he did and got the suspension the league seemed fit the actions that took place. We don’t have all the info nor do we need all the info. It’s not up to us. If you want to make a statement, then stop going to the games. Baseball knows they have to be careful and make proper decisions on these things. They aren’t going to brush over anything. Heck, they took all off season to come up with this suspension. They probably tried to find more and couldn’t. But who knows. All teams have people with checkered paths. It’s impossible not to statistically. It’s not a race thing or a team thing or anything but a fact. You put 25 people together, you are bound to have a few with baggage. DV is a terrible thing. Either trust the league does what it says and tries to do by punishing properly, or stop going to games and using these sites that are connected with the MLB. Can’t work both ways.
What did he do wrong?
If he “never physically touched, harmed or threatened (his) wife” and all parties agree on this, what action or actions got him suspended?
At some point that has to be explained or else you are either punishing an innocent man for bad PR or you are whitewashing the actions of an abuser. Neither is good.
While I agree with the lack of evidence statement he still needed to be reprimanded.
The fact remains that he was arrested and his wife didn’t try to pull the charges right away so clearly there was some sort of incident, physical or not.
It also doesn’t look good that he got arrested for domestic abuse after appearing in an MLB commercial speaking out against domestic abuse.
This punishment was associated with making the MLB look bad and since he’s playing in their league, it is well within their rights to punish him
Many police department’s have a policy that insists upon an arrest on domestic violence calls. Even with no evidence.
Manfred’s statement said he never physically touched, harmed or threatened his wife and Familia said the same.
“so clearly there was some sort of incident, physical or not.”
Should Familia be suspended 15 games for yelling at his wife? For calling her fat? For what actions?
What action did he take that merits a reprimand?
I find the silence on this very odd. “This guy did something bad, but we won’t tell you what is but we are suspending him to show you not to do the same thing” doesn’t make sense to me.
It seems like he either did, in fact, do something but they are protecting his and MLB’s brand by hiding the details OR he did nothing but they have to punish him to appease the pitch fork carriers.
I only read about half of these comments..but a lot of people are comparing him to Chap.. one was arrested the other wasn’t..in either case I don’t think much physical harm was done. But to say “there’s nothing about guns” in the clause Is insane. Let Chapman stand over you in a garage firing a gun off while screaming at you..that’s terrifying, I don’t care who you are. Each case is different. But to use Chapman’s to gauge how severely punished you are is insane. CHAPMAN got off so light it’s not even funny.
Great post completely agree. They aren’t deciding arbitration. Every crime has varying details and circumstances that can warrant different punishments. In this case it did
Figures a Red Sox fan would say Chapman got off lightly. If you want to talk lightly let’s talk Big Papi, he was treated like a hero and never explained (as promised) his steroid use.
The Cops have said they saw visible injuries on her, perhaps, he threw something.
I’m more shocked that he makes over 7mm….LOL