The High Court

Deep Thinkers Only...

Judge and Jury

June 30, 2006

 

From the desk of The Chief Justice...

 

We often hear about an overburdened court system in America, and almost everyone you know has been dragged into that painful civic responsibility known as jury duty at least once.  I am here to suggest a revolutionary concept which will unburden our court system and free each of us from the shackles of jury duty: National sports writers as judge AND jury.  Sure, I know it sounds a little off-the-wall; but trust me on this.  Because not only are these guys smart enough for the job (if you don’t believe me, just read them), but they are practiced in the field.  Hardly a day passes without one of these esteemed gentlemen passing judgment on somebody from the world of sports.

 

Today’s candidate for the judge and jury system is Associated Press columnist Tim Dahlberg.  Dahlberg is uniquely qualified for this appointment because of his deep wisdom and amazing insight.  He is, after all, the same man who recently wrote that athletes should wear helmets when riding motorcycles.  If that isn’t the sort of keen mind we want on this job, well, what can I say…Yoda wasn’t available.

 

Dahlberg’s latest decision has been rendered in a case against wife-beating Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Brett Myers and the Phillies organization.  Myers was recently arrested in Boston for allegedly hitting his wife in the face.  That event, all by itself, was enough to set off a firestorm of criticism for Myers, but when he took his turn on the mound for the Phillies the next day, all hell broke loose for both Myers and the Phillies organization.  Philadelphia management stayed quiet, with only manager Charlie Manuel making any comment on Myers’ situation.  Manuel suggested that the Myers family deserved to have their privacy respected; it was suggested by some that Manuel was a Neanderthal for saying any such thing.

 

Myers would issue the typical garden variety statements on the matter, saying that he was sorry and that his behavior was “inappropriate”.  When Philadelphia management finally spoke, it was much too late for the taste of most observers of the situation, including Dahlberg.  The entire saga prompted Dahlberg to write his latest column, casting the Phillies organization into the role of villain right alongside Myers.

 

Let’s get one thing straight right from the top: What Myers did to his wife, Kim, is deplorable and inexcusable.  He should get counseling to stem any further domestic violence in his own relationships, and he should be more than willing to speak out against domestic violence.  He also deserves to stand in the middle of a ring and get punched in the face several times by, say…Lennox Lewis.

 

What he does not deserve, however, is to be judged by the likes of Tim Dahlberg.  That domestic violence is a plague on humanity is as obvious as the notion that motorcycles are dangerous and that riders should wear helmets.  Dahlberg need not lecture us about it, and that he uses Kim Myers’ suffering as his own personal flag to wave is shameful.  Dahlberg and countless other columnists who have written about this situation have touted statistics and quoted domestic violence experts.  These same experts that Dahlberg wants to quote say that one in every three to four women will be victims of domestic violence.  That means domestic violence is ongoing every single day, in every single walk of life.  It didn’t start, and won’t end, with Brett and Kim Myers.  Where was Dahlberg last week when other women were being abused?  Where will he be next week?

 

Dahlberg’s column is a poach, like proverbial fish in a barrel.  It doesn’t take any particular talent or insight to rip Brett Myers for hitting his wife, nor does it require any gift to call the Phillies (and other MLB organizations) on the carpet for not penalizing their players enough for off-field transgressions.  Dahlberg goes so far as to label the Phillies organization as enablers in Myers’ behavior, as if their failure to impose swift punishment suggests that they have no problem with domestic violence.  This is a preposterous stance, one that seems almost libelous.  There is such a thing as due process in this country, and men and women all over the United States return to the workplace while awaiting trial on criminal charges.  Myers’ actions were reprehensible, but they did not merit the Philadelphia Phillies organization playing judge and jury.  The Phillies also have to deal with a collective bargaining agreement which probably (and I couldn’t say for sure…haven’t read my copy of the CBA in a while) limits their ability to punish players for alleged crimes.  Keep that alleged part in mind.  Yes, we are all pretty sure Myers hit his wife.  100% sure, actually.  But until he enters a plea or is convicted, Myers is still an innocent man, legally speaking.  Had the Phillies decided to take action against Myers immediately, I would have joined everyone else in applauding them.  The question is… could they have done so?  And besides, if Brett Myers was a plumber who hit his wife on Friday and was free on bail…would he be given a chance to fix a toilet on Saturday?

 

Dahlberg has a real axe to grind with baseball, and that sentiment comes through loud and clear in his column.  He tells us that baseball has been “…ruined by steroid use and the greed of both players and owners…” and that “baseball players are used to having everything taken care of for them”.  Dahlberg also expresses his disgust that baseball won’t hesitate to penalize players who have thrown at a hitter or charged the mound, but they leave domestic violence to the court system.  Hmm…angry much, Tim?  It seems fair to say that our judge/jury in the case against Brett Myers and the Phillies isn’t completely objective.  He is just one of many columnists that claim that sports in general (and MLB in particular) is out of touch with the real world.

 

I say that is not true.  I say that Dahlberg expects professional sports organizations to act above and beyond real world employers.  I say that he expects more from athletes than he does Regular Joe.  If a McDonald’s fry cook hits his wife on a Boston street, should the fry cook stay home from work the next day?  Is McDonald’s obligated to penalize that fry cook?  Are they responsible for his actions if they don’t?  Do the fry cook’s superiors even ever know that he was arrested for hitting his wife?  Probably not, at least not until he misses work for a court date.  Do any of us ever know that the fry cook hit his wife?  Will it matter if the wife is bigger than the fry cook?  Doesn’t the fry cook’s wife deserve someone to stand up and write a column on her behalf?  Will it be Tim Dahlberg?

 

Nope.  He’ll be too busy dropping this bombshell:  Cigarettes are hazardous to your health.

 

 

You can read Tim Dahlberg’s column here...

 

 

You can contact The Chief at chiefjustice@thehighcourtofsports.com