Christian Montgomery Domestic Violence Photos And Cheering For Jose Reyes
Back in 2014, Ravens running back Ray Rice punched his then fiancee, now wife, knocking her out cold. Without seeing the video, the NFL determined Rice should only receive a two game suspension. At the time, Rice was still upheld as a role model by the Ravens. Ravens fans and fantasy football fans were contemplating how Rice would perform when he returned.
Remember, while there was outrage in certain parts of the world, the main focus was on the football impact. That was until TMZ released the video of what he actually did.
The response was overwhelming. A now suddenly image conscious NFL suspended Rice indefinitely, and they worked to institute a new domestic violence policy. Other leagues would do the same, including Major League Baseball. Little did we know at the time, but baseball’s policy would soon be put to the test.
Starting with Aroldis Chapman, there have been nine MLB players suspended for domestic violence. With each incident, there have been different reactions by each team. The Reds wanted no part of Chapman, and as a result, they traded him to the Yankees. The Blue Jays had a similar reaction with Roberto Osuna trading him to the Astros rather than having him pitch another game for their franchise.
Other teams have had different reactions. It may be callous to assert this, but it’s eminently fair to say the Chicago Cubs don’t care about it. Back in 2016, they traded away huge haul in the form of Gleyber Torres, Billy McKinney, and Adam Warren to obtain Chapman. This offseason, they opted to tender Addison Russell a contract despite fully knowing Russell’s history.
With respect to Russell, this past year was not the first time Russell was accused of abusing his now ex-wife. In 2017, his now ex-wife made the claim on social media, but she deleted the posts. She also wouldn’t cooperated with MLB investigators, and as a result, MLB would levy no suspension upon Russell.
While his ex-wife was not willing to cooperate in 2018, she was in 2018. She found the strength and courage to tell her story. While previous MLB incidents had been detailed in police reports and newspaper articles, Melissa Russell, gave a face and voice to the abused. The allegations were harrowing, and the details gut-wrenching. It was the closest thing to a Ray Rice video MLB has seen.
That was until last night.
Last night, images surfaced on Twitter accusing former Mets minor league Christian Montgomery of beating his girlfriend on Friday night. Before clicking the link, be warned they are graphic and disturbing images.
It should be noted Montgomery has not been with the Mets for over two years now. Back in July 2016, he was put on the restricted list after testing positive a second time for a “drug of abuse.” With the two positive test results, plus a 5.65 ERA over five minor league seasons, Montgomery was proving he was not nearly talented enough to put up with his off-the-field behavior.
What we don’t know is if the Mets knew or factored in his domestic violence issues (to the extent this was an issues at the time). What we do know is the same month Montgomery was suspended was the same month Jose Reyes played for the Mets again.
Like with other incidents, we only heard what Reyes did. We never got the Ray Rice video. We didn’t have the photos from Montgomery. We didn’t even have the Russell story. This allowed the team, media, and even fans to have a certain level of cognitive dissonance. We knew something happened, but we didn’t know exactly what happened. At least, that is what many of us have told ourselves.
Sure, Reyes’ wife went to the hospital, but no one actually saw what she looked like upon arrival. Really, no one saw her until June when she attended Reyes’ first game back. She was in Brooklyn as the fans cheered and welcomed back Reyes. Nary was there a boo of voice of disapproval in the stadium in either Brooklyn or in Queens.
It’s no different than what we saw happened with Chapman or Osuna. It’s no different than what we have seen with any of the players accused of or suspended for domestic violence. If you don’t see it or the results of it, you don’t have the understanding of what truly happened. To a certain extent, that’s human nature.
If you look at the photos from the Montgomery accusations, you have a better understanding of what happened with Reyes even if the circumstances and the injuries were different. Looking at those pictures, you have to question how exactly Reyes was nominated for the Marvin Miller Award. If you are a fan who wanted him to return or still wear his jersey, the hope is the pictures should force you to revisit your opinion.
In the end, just remember that when there is an incident of domestic violence, there is a woman who looks like Ray Rice’s wife or Christian Montgomery’s girlfriend. There is a woman with a story like Addison Russell’s ex-wife has. If you’re a team looking to sign a player like Chapman, or a fan cheering for a Russell, or a Mets fan getting wrapped up in nostalgia wearing your Reyes jersey, just revisit these videos, pictures, and stories.
When you’re done, ask yourself if that is something you want to support.
What Reyes did was awful, and you’re right, we don’t have visual evidence. However, the charges were dropped, he served his MLB suspension, attended counseling and his wife took him back.
Mets did their due diligence on a very ashamed and contrite Reyes and made a determination to bring him back but only on a boatload of off field pre-conditions. What he did was terribly wrong, but some people deserve second chances. He seems to have seized that to become a better person which apparently his teammates also recognized.
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Charges were dropped because Reyes’ wife didn’t cooperate not because prosecutors believed Reyes didn’t commit the act.
Also, I’m completely unaware of anything Reyes did outside his MLB mandated counseling. I haven’t seen him try to lead education efforts or be a spokesperson.
Moreover, I do not know of what conditions the Mets made on signing him other than please play third as we need one.
How exactly is Reyes a better person?
I’m not actually too sure if there should be ANY second chances for domestic violence, as awful as that sounds. I don’t know..as a real man, there’s almost supposed to be a bit of a mental block that just stops you raising your hand to a woman. If someone doesn’t have that…there’s just something that wrong with them that a bit of counselling and their wife taking them back is not going to cover, for mine.
Maybe if they underwent like a Clockwork Orange style mental teardown and rebuild, lol…
You might say that’s unfair but that’s how I feel. Violence is wrong but violence against women is on another level, “your whole being is rotten to the core”, wrong.
Reyes was arrested on misdemeanor charges. Though any act of domestic violence is unacceptable, it didn’t rise to that of the more severe felony.
Reyes has admitted to what he did, has taken full responsibility publicly and personally and has worked hard to change. Having to come clean to his wife, kinds, mother and father, in-laws, his wife’s family, his own extended family, friends, countrymen, former and new teammates, press and public, etc had to have been very humbling and humiliating.
He continued counseling after he signed with the Mets.
https://www.nj.com/mets/index.ssf/2016/06/sandy_alderson_explains_why_mets_signed_jose_reyes.html
https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/jose-reyes-thankful-chance-domestic-abuse-arrest-article-1.2817871
He got a second chance through the Mets because he grew up in the organization and was solid citizen during that time. I despise violence but I also believe in second chances for people who want to change and take concrete steps to do so, are genuinely remorseful, take personal responsibility, aren’t inherently evil and have the support system in place to become a better human being.
His wife opted not to press charges for reasons we can can only surmise. They’re still together, aren’t they?
What stands out to me is that his teammates knew what he did years earlier and still opted to vote for him in present day last season which says much about who he is as a person they were with day in and out.
I believe that Reyes did a lot with his younger teammates in majors and minors emphasizing never to do what he did.
And if he did any work against domestic violence in more forma setting, which he may have done, it was kept under the radar not made into a spectacle.
Reyes was charged with a misdemeanor because of the statutory language, and he wasn’t tried because his wife wouldn’t cooperated. This makes this the classic domestic violence situation.
And we can opt to believe whatever we want, but there’s zero evidence to suggest he has done anything to serve as a role model on this front.
First, you are ignoring things that stand in direction opposition to what you are saying. This is not unusual for anyone that knows you. You simply discount anything that is not aligned with your point of view.
And second, there is nothing you are presenting that suggests he isn’t deserving of a second chance.
Just you, making accusations about someone you don’t know at all.
1. Nothing of substance has been presented to suggest Reyes was innocent.
2. Please explain how Reyes deserved a second chance.
3. I wasn’t the one who made the accusations.
This is disgusting. Thanks for revealing your true nature.
You think it’s disgusting that someone’s true nature is to have a real issue with people who beat women?
That’s as stupid a take as I’ve ever seen b
I find it interesting that someone uses the phrase “cognitive dissonance” in an article regarding rage, and *consistently* fails to control his temper and his reactions to people that disagree with him.
Just curious: as MetsDaddy, do you think the best way to raise a son is to set a standard where name calling is not only acceptable but frequently your initial response?
Not exposing my son to morons like you is what makes me a good parent.
there you go John.
Name calling. What you are good at doing. I’m sure you teach your son all sorts of great behaviors. Keep up the good work.
You want to come here and act like s child insulting people and their parenting, yes, I’m going to dismiss you like the jerk you’re being.
If you want to be an adult and not a troll, we can have an honest discussion.
As for my parenting, considering the horrendous excuse for a person you are, you’re in no position to critique or adjudge anyone.
There is ZERO evidence that Reyes beat his wife like what that Montgomery report had listed. This article is bigoted, unfair and bias and frankly, is outright dangerous. It shows you are OBVIOUSLY ignorant about domestic violence, violence in general, or our legal system. People like you are more dangerous that those accused of domestic violence, because you encite which hunts and obscure peoples rights and justice.
I’d think twice before calling people ignorant when you’ve shown a clear misunderstanding of what was written, and when you talk degrees of beating a woman.
This is a tricky situation, but one thing you can probably put money on, is that MLB’s investigation and resulting actions are a good barometer of the situation. Unlike the U.S. justice system, it does not need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, but also isn’t going to punish baseless allegations.
We’ve all heard the stories regarding Osuna’s incident. He received a 75 game ban, which I believe is the heaviest of all suspensions leveed thus far. We also know about Steven Wright’s situation, which only resulted in a 15 game suspension.
Though the be fair, none of us really ever know the full extent of these situations for a variety of different reasons. Some cases are given visuals, others have stories and some just have a cloud of speculation. Personally, I cannot suspend my judgement when I hear details from pertinent and/or reputable sources. But, I certainly do not have the whole story, so I try very hard not to put all the eggs into the “blame basket”.
The writer of this post is getting some unfair criticism for his tie-ins and while I agree that there were some spots that were tied in unfairly (the transition from Montgomery to Reyes), this is a blog post and not an article for the Associated Press. He is entitled to his opinion and if you don’t agree, then either don’t read it or comment in a more useful way. It’s somewhat appalling that in today’s climate, where the #metoo movement and similar like-situations exist, that he’s taking so much flack for calling attention to a problem that some people still seem to be ignoring. I’m sure that this blog does not have a strong enough influence that people are going to take the images from Montgomery’s girlfriend and affix them to Aroldis Chapman. So, get over it guys.
I made clear several times we don’t have the full details or photos from Reyes or other MLB incidents.
The Montgomery photos, Russell story, and Rice video are what DV looks like. If you’re discussing matters of degree, you’re missing the point.
I would hope that is a reason for people not to vote for Barry Bonds to be a hall of famer.
If you want to invoke the character clause for that purpose, I’m not going to tell someone they’re wrong.
It’s a perfectly justified position whether or not I agree.