Myers Faces Someone Who Hits Back

Allegations of Spousal Abuse Against Phillies Hurler

By

Clinton Riddle

Brett Myers, righthander for the Phillies, was recently charged with striking his wife while walking about in Boston. The Phillies reacted by sending him as far away as they could, all the way down to Class-A Clearwater. I'm thinking they were trying to wait for this to blow over a bit before bringing him back.

Myers has a court date set. Until that time, it's business as usual for him and the Phillies. I wonder how understanding and supportive they would be had he been a washed up, broken down middle reliever?

My guess is, NOT VERY.

"I talked to him a little bit, (but) I think he got enough schooling. I think he had a lot of people talking to him."

That was Charlie Manuel's take on the recent troubles of starter Brett Myers.

Mine is slightly different.

First of all, how much is "enough schooling"? If he is found guilty of battery against his wife, what will be done about it? Is it ever enough? Now, I know the whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing, and I'm not here to judge him, but I have to know one thing: What is hitting one's wife worth in the baseball world? A 10 game suspension? A month? A year? The point I'm trying to get at is this: Whatever happens with Myers, if he IS judged guilty, will doubtless be sufficient. He'll probably be ordered to attend anger management classes, make public speaking engagements denouncing spousal abuse, blah blah blah.

Would that make his wife any less abused? Would it make her any less frightened? Would it be justice?

It happened in public, also, and he's already made a half-hearted apology about it, so it's looking pretty bad for him in terms of guilt or innocence.

And for those of you who are part of the "She Can Always Walk Away" Club, let's hear your thoughts on the subject when you've actually been through it, yourself. Tell me how easy it was for you to "walk away" then, when you were imprisioned by your own fears, living a half-life, trying to remember what being human felt like. I probably sound pretty overwrought to a lot of you; that doesn't matter to me one bit. This is a serious issue, and it demands a serious approach.

Let's not forget, however, that while his wife will probably need counseling and support, so will he need it as well. This issue cannot be addressed without support for both sides involved, especially if it's happened before, because if it has then Myers needs help perhaps as much as his wife.

Whatever happens, I dearly hope that MLB handles this situation with the attention it deserves and Myers receives the counseling (and punishment, if necessary) that he deserves. No abusive act, regardless of its nature, should ever go unpunished.

And if Myers has a long history of abuse against his wife, or anyone else for that matter, then perhaps he ought to be given the rest of the year to think about it....in jail.


Clinton Riddle
Green Diamonds