I’ve waited a few days to digest the news about Mariners reliever Julio Mateo, trying to make sense of an apparent domestic violence situation that’s so senseless.
It was disgusting to hear of the injuries Mateo’s wife suffered, disappointing to see a photo of Mateo being led out of a Manhattan police station, and disturbing to learn that this isn’t the first time he has been connected with a domestic violence situation.
Most of all, I felt a sense of sadness in the situation. Sadness that a woman has been injured, sadness that a major league baseball player — someone who is a role model whether he wants to be or not — is linked to such an incident, sadness that this is another demon Mateo, his family, friends, teammates and team must deal with.
It has been a horrible year for Mateo and his family. His brother died in an auto accident a year ago while Julio was at spring training, and while he rarely spoke about it, you knew it had to be a huge mental burden.
Nobody knows if there’s a connection between the death of Mateo’s brother, the mental state it left him in, and the allegations he now faces. The bottom line is that there’s no excuse for domestic violence. Absolutely no excuse.
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