My love for the Cubs is as much a part of my identity as my eye color. It's shaped my personality. It's where I've met many of my friends and why I have any twitter followers at all. Everyone knows I love baseball, but that I REALLY love Cubs baseball.
And today, I will lose that part of me.
Aroldis Chapman is the fastest-throwing pitcher in baseball, and maybe ever. He's incredible to watch. Last year at Wrigley, when he was pitching for the Reds against us, everyone, including me, checked the MPH after every pitch, oohing and ahhing as the numbers climbed over 100 MPH.
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| Here is Chapman pitching 100 mph to Matt Szczur at Wrigley last year. |
Shortly before spring training this year, Aroldis Chapman's girlfriend placed a 911 call. According to her report, Chapman choked her. She escaped and hid in some bushes in her yard, and in anger, Chapman fired eight shots into the garage wall. You can read about it here.
Later, she recanted the story in a couple different ways, but both she and Chapman admitted that he had lain hands on her. And, anyway, the bullet holes were still there.
In a brave and bold move by MLB, and in accordance to their new anti-domestic violence policy, Chapman was suspended for 30 games, despite the fact that criminal charges were not filed. He accepted the suspension and said he had executed poor judgment by shooting his gun, but that he had done nothing wrong to his girlfriend. You can read about it here.
(See above where he admitted that he had lain hands on her.)
So, after his 30-game vacation, he came back to the Yankees, and the Cubs just acquired him in a trade for several prospects. The Cubs and Chapman released a statement saying that they had a stern talk with Chapman and told him he had to be a good boy if he was a Cub. He said he would. They feel that he will be fine. Chapman said he already dealt with it and is working on his relationship and doesn't want to talk about it. You can read the pathetic statements here.
I could have taken a meaningless, "I'm sorry I did this, but---", because at least that would be SOMETHING. But in all of Chapman's statements, he has made it clear that he has done nothing wrong to his girlfriend. I would even take a pathetic, obviously PR-driven move of his making a donation to a DV shelter or something, because that would at least say, "Well, I didn't do anything, but I hope I can help people when something DOES happen." But he is through talking about it. It didn't happen.
I get that this may not matter to you. I get that you may have never stood between one of your best friends and her husband as he swung his fists, and then watched her go back to him a few days later because she just knew he would never do it again. I get that you may have never looked into the empty eyes of a survivor of domestic violence who has convinced herself that she doesn't deserve any better than the backhand of her partner.
I can't share most of what I have seen of the domestic violence world because of client-counselor confidentiality. But here's what I will share--some statistics here. And some here. My favorite stat is that only 25% of assaults are reported to the police. The cases that actually go to court are lower. The cases with conviction are even lower.
It would be easy to say the girlfriend was lying, that this is all about money, that who cares what he does off the field when he throws so darn hard on the field. It would be easy to stay a Cubs fan, because for the first time in FOREVER, it actually IS easy to be a Cubs fan. They're winning and making history and being overall adorable. I named my cats after Rizzo and Bryant, for Pete's sake. If you know me at all, you know that my love for the Cubs surpasses almost everything, and that I would never speak ill of them unless I felt it was important to do so.
We all have causes close to our hearts because of our personal experiences, jobs, ethnicity, etc. This is a cause close to mine. I am disappointed that winning means more than character. I am disappointed that this glorious season will be tainted by this man. I don't know how deep I will boycott the Cubs, but I will not be able to support them at the same level I have in the past.
Goodbye, Cubs. See you after the free agent market opens. I hope he's gone by then. My being gone will mean nothing to the Cubs--they will probably have more fans than ever. But I will be able to do my job without feeling like a hypocrite.
This is how I'm handling it. It's up to you how you will.
