Aroldis Chapman was suspended 30 games for his domestic violence case, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced Tuesday. It was the first suspension handed out by MLB under the new domestic violence policy.
Chapman, who had previously stated his intent to appeal any suspension, agreed to the suspension without appeal. The New York Yankees reliever will lose $1.7 million in salary as a result of the suspension.
Commissioner Manfred said in his statement that he found Chapman’s behavior “inappropriate,” specifically citing the closer brandishing a firearm in the dispute.
Commissioner Manfred announced that A. Chapman has accepted a 30-game suspension w/o pay, effective Opening Day: pic.twitter.com/SrEaCTfei0
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) March 1, 2016
Although Chapman was not charged in the incident, he has accepted the suspension.
“Today, I accepted a 30 game suspension from Major League Baseball resulting from my actions on October 30, 2015. I want to be clear, I did not in any way harm my girlfriend that evening. However, I should have exercised better judgment with respect to certain actions, and for that I am sorry,” he said in a statement. “The decision to accept a suspension, as opposed to appealing one, was made after careful consideration. I made this decision in an effort to minimize the distractions that an appeal would cause the Yankees, my new teammates and most importantly, my family. I have learned from this matter, and I look forward to being part of the Yankees’ quest for a 28th World Series title. Out of respect for my teammates and my family, I will have no further comment.”
