Domestic abuse.
While you were busy trying to shake off a turkey coma and worry about an MLB Lockout, Rob Manfred and his team made a successful news dump. Marcell Ozuna was suspended for violating the league's Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual assault and Child Abuse Policy. His suspension? Twenty games.
The 20 games might seem like a lot, compared to the six-game threshold set by the league as a jumping off point for domestic violence suspensions. Ozuna injured his fingers sliding into third base in May and hasn't played for the Braves since. If there is an opening day next year, Ozuna will be able to play on the day after his 20-game suspension is over.
Body cam footage from the officers who arrested Ozuna was released by the Sandy Springs, Ga., police department.
Ozuna promised that the video would clear him of wrongdoing, but the video is not great. It shows Ozuna with his hand around his wife's neck, pushing her backwards while he chokes her. Ozuna insisted that the Sandy Springs police would have to apologize to him once the video was released. I don't think that will be a thing.
Ozuna was originally charged with felony strangulation, but the charge was later reduced to a less serious crime of battery and assault, which is par for the course when the victim is unwilling to cooperate. Domestic violence is a psychological crime. Ozuna has been offered a diversion program, which could see all charges against him dropped as long as he complies with Fulton County's requirements.
Ozuna's sentence is so shocking because it shows how shocked the system is by seeing an abuser batter a victim on video, as well as a glimpse of a professional athlete with his hand around a woman's throat. Ozuna's 20-game suspension is on the lower end of recent suspensions handed out by MLB in cases without video. The interviews with his ex-wife were the basis for 40 games. Sam Dyson was suspended for the entire season in 2021 after his ex posted that he had been abusive. Domingo Germn got 81 games for an incident. None of the incidents that led to the suspensions of those players were caught on video.
I am not going to cry that MLB is too tough on abusers. There is a reason prosecutors charge abusers with felonies. I wrote a piece about the charges against Ozuna back in May, and I think it is worth sharing again, in hopes that the information will reach as many people as possible.
One in four women will experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime, but nearly 70 percent of them will suffer near-fatal strangulation. Nine percent of the women will be pregnant at the time. Thirty-eight percent of them will lose consciousness. 70% of them will think they are about to die.
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Early on, domestic violence workers are taught that domestic abuse is about control and power. In the case of strangulation, the abuser is controlling the victim's access to life-sustaining oxygen, in that moment, whether the victim lives or dies.
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Only 50 percent of non-fatal cases have physical signs of strangulation. The myth that a victim without visible injuries or proof of physical abuse have actually been attacked was dispelled by only 15 percent of visible injuries showing up on photographs. Within a few minutes, strangulation can cause unconsciousness and death. It is what happens after a strangulation event that is the most horrible. In addition to suffering from depression, memory loss, nightmares, and anxiety, victims who are strangled are seven times more likely to be killed by their abusers. strangulation is more than just a physical act. The risk of death for strangulation victims days or weeks after the event is very high.
The bar is laying on the floor, but MLB has been the best-informed of the four leagues when it comes to domestic violence. The league still relies on victims putting themselves in danger in order to talk to them about their abuse, but at least there is a rehabilitative component to MLB's punishment, requiring players to be evaluated by an expert and to attend appropriate counseling.
What is happening with MLB? We have a video of an MLB player with his hands on his wife's neck, who only stops when the police burst in and order him to the ground. The level of the 50, 80, 100 game suspensions that have been handed out to other players is very high. Ozuna was punished enough for missing out on the World Series. I hope not, as tying an abuse's punishment to his team's success is a terrible road to go down.
The league was able to slip this one under the radar because the owners voted unanimously to lock the players out. It feels like the league is moving in the wrong direction when it comes to their policy on domestic abuse.
If you or a loved one is experiencing intimate partner violence, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
