Bob CollinsThe Lancaster, Pa., Barnstormers, one of the many independent minor league teams, are patting themselves on the back for their sensitivity to domestic assault by cutting a player after police released a video showing Danry Vasquez beating up his girlfriend in August 2016 at Whataburger Field in Texas, home of the Corpus Christi Hooks baseball team.
“Upon being made aware of the nature of the incident, the Barnstormers made a prompt decision to cut ties with the 24-year-old outfielder,” the team said in a statement.
“Neither I, nor the Barnstormers’ organization as a whole, can condone or associate with that behavior,” the team boss said.
This is entirely untrue, however.
The team signed Vasquez knowing that he’d beaten the woman because Vasquez was suspended indefinitely by Major League Baseball (which has authority over major league affiliate clubs like the Corpus Christi team but not independent leagues) for — wait for it — beating up a woman.
A simple Google search would have turned up dozens of news stories about his arrest, Sports Illustrated reported.
The baseball team didn’t explain why it took this video to awaken its abhorrence to the very notion of a man beating up a woman.
The team has since removed its Facebook declaration of disassociating itself from “that behavior.”
Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander tweeted that he has no sympathy for Vasquez.
🖕🏻 you man. I hope the rest of your life without baseball is horrible. You deserve all that is coming your way! https://t.co/e8nJ8urUAJ
— Justin Verlander (@JustinVerlander) March 15, 2018
His colleague in the Astros starting rotation, Lance McCullers asks the proper question: Where was the outrage before there was video?
The issue here is no one cared as much until a video was leaked & now everyone is outraged!? This is the reality of domestic violence. It’s always brutal, always sickening. We must fight for the victims, video or not. He should be in jail. If you need help, find it. People care. https://t.co/1ZhHnJlX3o
— Lance McCullers Jr. (@LMcCullers43) March 15, 2018
Vasquez’s former girlfriend, Fabiana Perez, tells Univision that she wishes she had pressed charges.
(h/t: Sean Collins)
