Aroldis Chapman is no longer a gun owner after domestic incident
New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman says he no longer owns a gun and he apologized Wednesday for using a gun in the alleged domestic violence incident Oct. 30 at his home in Miami that earned him a 30-game suspension from MLB this week.
Chapman fired his registered gun eight times in his garage that night. His girlfriend alleged Chapman also choked her and pushed her against a wall. He was never charged with a crime or arrested. That didn’t stop Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred from suspending him, costing the reliever nearly $1.9 million in salary. 
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Manfred cited Chapman’s acknowledged use of a firearm as one of the factors that led him to decide 30 games was an appropriate punishment. Chapman will be eligible to return to the Yankees on May 9 when they’re at home hosting defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals.
“I never hurt my girlfriend,” Chapman said Wednesday, while addressing the media. “I want this to be very clear. I’m taking this punishment because of my bad judgment. I’m apologizing because of the use of the gun.”
He added: “As of right now, I don’t have any more guns.”
Chapman initially considered appealing any possible punishment handed down from the commissioner. After consulting with his attorney and considering the possibility of longer suspension and how a delay might affect his free agency next winter, he opted to accept the 30 games.
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New York manager Jor Girardi spoke with reporters Wednesday and said domestic violence is not acceptable and that Chapman now knows how serious it is. Girardi said he plans to use Andrew Miller as the team’s closer until Chapman returns from suspension.
Girardi also offered some great perspective anyone can learn from and apply to their lives, whether they’re baseball players or not.
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Kyle Ringo is a contributing writer to Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
