MLB, MLBPA Announce New Domestic Violence And Sexual Assault Policy
Major League Baseball took a significant step in the right direction by announcing a new policy pertaining to domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse– two grave issues that have hurt other professional leagues. of the public eye on Friday.
The policy not only covers Major League players, but Minor League players, the commissioner’s office, and everyone employed by a Major or Minor League organization. As a part of the process, the MLBPA also agreed to assemble a comprehensive domestic abuse policy for the staff itself.
The different parties came to an exclusive agreement, which will impose serious repercussions on player found guilty of these violations. The agreements lay a precedent that MLB will follow now, so that their players are protected by their rights, disciplined through appropriate actions, and care for the victims of the policy so that they can recover from the incident.
Additional and specific details of the policy were posted by Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports:
MLB and the MLBPA announce historic agreement on a Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. pic.twitter.com/BYxgFVdNNd"
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 21, 2015
MLB went with a precautionary route as other sports came under scrutiny for their failure to act upon recent domestic instances. The new policy established come after MLB conducted meetings earlier in the year as part of their attempt to lay a new foundation to abide by.
The new policy not only will punish those who are involved, but also provides resources so that players and staff will be more educated regarding how to respectfully prevent any harm. Executive director of the MLBPA Tony Clark stated part of the goal isn’t only to punish those who partake in heinous activities, but to get players to comprehend the negative impacts that domestic violence can cause and to be properly informed.
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