NYC council leader scolds Yankees for Aroldis Chapman trade
When the New York Yankees agreed to acquire Aroldis Chapman in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds on Monday, the move made plenty of baseball sense. He’s among the game’s best relief pitchers and the Yankees were getting him at a discounted rate.
Morally, though, it left some people questioning whether the Yankees were smart to trade for a player who had, just months before, allegedly choked his girlfriend, pushed her against a wall, then fired eight shots in garage while she hid in the bushes. This isn’t just because Chapman is facing an MLB domestic violence investigation (which could ultimately benefit the Yankees, mind you), but because of the message it sends: If you’re capable of throwing a baseball very fast, we’ll look past your character flaws.
Add New York City Council speaker Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to the list of people scolding the Yankees. She said Tuesday the team was “really wrong” to trade for Chapman and by doing so the Yankees are “condoning this kind of violence.”
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The Yankees traded for Chapman not even a month after a report by Jeff Passan and Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports reconfigured public perception of Chapman, the hardest-throwing pitcher in MLB. On Dec. 8, just hours after a trade was reportedly in place to send Chapman to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the news broke about the incident involving Chapman and his girlfriend.
He wasn’t arrested and local police never filed charges, but there was enough for MLB to investigate Chapman under its new domestic violence policy. And that was enough for the Dodgers to back away from the trade. In the ensuing days, Chapman was called ” a toxic asset” by at least one national columnist. But apparently only toxic enough for the Yankees to swoop in after the market softened and get Chapman from the Reds for four decent-but-not-amazing prospects.
This has, predictably, stirred up plenty of non-baseball conversation. Just like the Greg Hardy case did in the NFL. It’s the type of conversation that sends reporters to local politicians looking for comment. NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio was asked about it and didn’t wade into the debate, instead telling Newsday that he’d “respect the judicial process.”
But Melissa Mark-Viverito, a Democrat who is the leader of NYC city council and whose district includes the South Bronx, had plenty to say. Per Newsday, she said she was “very disturbed” by the Yankees’ decision and the team was “condoning this kind of violence when you bring him on to be part of this team.” She continued:
“I think it was really wrong of the Yankees to have signed this guy on. We all want the Yankees to do well — but at the expense of what, right?”
This is a conversation that is happening more often in sports in general and now in baseball, which hadn’t done much to ponder the “at the expense of what?” question until recently. The league’s new policy gives commissioner Rob Manfred ultimate authority to decide punishment and also allows him to put players on administrative leave while he makes his decision.
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That’s a big change from just 10 years ago, when Brett Myers was arrested and charged with assault after allegedly assaulting his wife in public in Boston, then pitched two days later for the Philadelphia Phillies.
As it stands now, we have no idea what will happen next with Chapman. There’s no precedent yet under baseball’s new domestic violence policy, so it’s hard to even guess. But we know, whatever it is, the decision will be magnified, dissected and debated.
Aroldis Chapman plays in New York City now, pitching for the Yankees — he’d better to get used to the scrutiny.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
