13? I guess Bradley is not supersticious.

What a lousy human being.

I had started to post something flip but deleted it before hitting submit. Geez I hope this isn't as bad as it sounds.

You have to make contact for battery. If this were tried in Seattle, no jury would convict him on those counts.

Milton Bradley should probably check himself into a psych facility. I'm serious.

claiming he tried to choke her, with 2 hands

Does he normally only use one hand?

Remember when people were still defending Bradley after his 4th or 5th different team? Good times.

What a lousy human being.

Yeah. I think we can put to bed the "Bradley's just tormented and misunderstood, not a bad guy" theory.

We've got at least 5 occasions, including weapons, and a death threat. He's scum.

When a "tormented and misunderstood" guy's tormented misunderstandingness usually plays out in explosions of anger, stay the #### away.

This story is awful.

Stay tuned for jokes about spousal abuse from the same people who joked about spousal abuse in this forum after the Andruw Jones incident - and then acted shocked when SugarBear and I raised an eyebrow in response.

Link?

EDIT: Thread in question. Yeah, I'm not a fan of the wife-beating puns either.

EDIT: Thread in question.

Yup.

Yeah. I think we can put to bed the "Bradley's just tormented and misunderstood, not a bad guy" theory.

Pretty much, yeah. I hope they throw the book at him.

Repeating, but: Athletes are a bigger threat to civilians, by orders of magnitude, than civilians are to athletes.

It's unfortunate how we acculturate so many accomplished athletes to become what so many of them become. It's a heavy price to pay for our bread and circuses.

Pretty much, yeah. I hope they throw the book at him.

Agreed. This is the money quote from the article.

and in March 2012 he allegedly threatened her with a knife and said, "You’ll be dead ##### before you divorce me."

I remember when people were still defending Bradley after 2005, when police responded to multiple domestic incident calls at his house.

Milton Bradley? No. Monopoly was a Parker Brothers game.

This is awful.

Also, can we stop needlessly embedding pictures and videos into threads? It makes the site less work-friendly.

Also, can we stop needlessly embedding pictures and videos into threads? It makes the site less work-friendly.

I can assure you, both gentlemen in the above picture are wearing pants.

I can assure you, both gentlemen in the above picture are wearing pants.

Must you taunt Smitty* so?

I was one of the last to give him the benefit of the doubt. Innocent until proven guilty, of course, but yeah, seems I was wrong. Ooof.

How does this affect his HOF chances?

Repeating, but: Athletes are a bigger threat to civilians, by orders of magnitude, than civilians are to athletes.

this statement is completely false. the violent crime rate of professional athletes is lower than non-athletes in their age group.

there are many studies to back that up. in trying to find any truth in your statement, i found that there have been studies that show higher rates of sexual crimes by athletes, but even with those included as violent crime, the crime rate of athletes is lower than non-athletes.

Repeating, but: Athletes are a bigger threat to civilians, by orders of magnitude, than civilians are to athletes.


this statement is completely false. the violent crime rate of professional athletes is lower than non-athletes in their age group.

there are many studies to back that up. in trying to find any truth in your statement, i found that there have been studies that show higher rates of sexual crimes by athletes, but even with those included as violent crime, the crime rate of athletes is lower than non-athletes.

I believe his point is that when there is an athlete vs. non-athlete conflict, the athlete has the advantage.

I believe his point is that when there is an athlete vs. non-athlete conflict, the athlete has the advantage.

oh. nevermind then.

Damn, man. Why didn't he get help after all the other times?

Agree with #26. I'm no stone thrower, but he's had ample opportunity to get his act together.

The last baseball related item I remember about MBradley was getting pushed aside by a first base ump and blowing out a knee. Did he ever play after that? My understanding is that the basis of anger management is "when you get really mad, walk away". Yes, Milton, that's why they put doors on houses. So you could go outside, hop in the car, drive to Colorado, and smoke all the weed you want. And no one will bother you.

I'd be more inclined to credit reports if I weren't familiar with a number of attorneys who allow as how they'd be remiss as divorce proceedings begin if they didn't counsel their female clients to file assault and child abuse charges against their husbands, regardless of whether those occurred, as these give them significant leverage during the divorce.

I remember when people were still defending Bradley after 2005, when police responded to multiple domestic incident calls at his house.

Defending him of what--not being actually guilty?***

We've got at least 5 occasions, including weapons, and a death threat. He's scum.

Sorry for not wanting to participate in the Two-Minute Hate, but apparently he's not actually ever been found guilty of anything. The entirety of Wikipedia's "Personal" section on Bradley.

In 2005, Bradley was the Dodgers' nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award for working with the Dodgers Dream Foundation, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, and the Long Beach Boys & Girls Clubs, among other charities. Bradley has also opened two baseball academies, one in Long Beach and another in Baldwin Hills.[63] In August 2005, Redondo Beach police received three domestic-violence-related calls from Bradley's house. No charges were filed.[64] In 2006, Bradley filed for divorce but the petition was never finalized.[65] He has two sons.[66][67]

On January 18, 2011, Bradley was arrested at his home in Encino, California and charged with making criminal threats to his wife, Monique. In return for participating in an out-of-court hearing process, no charges were filed against him. However, she has subsequently filed for divorce.[62][68] On January 11, 2013, Bradley was again charged with domestic battery against his divorced wife. He denies the charges.[67]

Fwiw, years and years ago I was certain any team trading for Bradley were idiots. He seems like a jackass, the rare kind of guy awful enough to actually turn out to be someone who can make a team worse because of his attitude.

As for a 2005 incident,

Police have responded three times to the suburban home of Dodgers outfielder Milton Bradley on domestic violence calls this summer, but neither he nor his pregnant wife was arrested or charged.

Redondo Beach police counseled the couple after responding on June 28 and July 30. In the June report, Bradley told police his wife had hit and scratched him because she suspected him of cheating on her.

I know it's always more fun to assert men are ####, but sometimes the facts intrude.


***To a poster in this thread, by this I do actually, specifically mean this in the ordinary conversational sense that he hasn't been found actually guilty.

I was one of the last to give him the benefit of the doubt. Innocent until proven guilty, of course, but yeah, seems I was wrong. Ooof.

How so?

I believe his point is that when there is an athlete vs. non-athlete conflict, the athlete has the advantage.

Oh, really? Because I've got myself on a first round KO over prime Dick Button.

#29: Mmmm, yeah, you should probably report those lawyers to their state ethics office. That's totally unethical, and probably illegal.

I'd be more inclined to credit reports if I weren't familiar with a number of attorneys who allow as how they'd be remiss as divorce proceedings begin if they didn't counsel their female clients to file assault and child abuse charges against their husbands, regardless of whether those occurred, as these give them significant leverage during the divorce.

I call ########.

You spend the entire rest of the post focused like a laser on the lack of a guilty verdict in a court case, and at the same time we're supposed to believe this completely ludicrous story about fake assault charges with no evidence whatsoever?

Well, it's standard operating procedure in domestic actions for the attorney to allege at least generally somewhere in the pleadings that there was physical and mental abuse. It's like boilerplate. He does that because his client claims it (always have your client sign those pleadings), but when the client doesn't he'll include them anyway so as to cover himself, and will not make those allegations only if his client insist that he doesn't. But these here are criminal charges against Bradley, and they seem, and would have to be, specific. Still, an allegation in a criminal case is not a proven fact either, and can be baseless. We'll see.

Jack Carter, is there something you want to share with us?

I was one of the people who defended Bradley in the past. I suppose there was a part of me that didn't want to label him "an angry black man". Of course I think Bradley has some serious anger issues and just happens to be black.

As to #29 stating that he was never found guilty, I think there's too much smoke to think that Bradley is completely innocent of any wrong. As a prosecutor, I've handled a fair share of domestic violence cases. If the victim suddenly doesn't want to testify, often times your case is toast. You can certainly try and go forward without the victim but it's an uphill battle many prosecutors don't want to mess with. Given the nature of the cycle of violence, I could see his wife not wanting to press charges after he apologizes and promises never to do it again.

Also, it's true that some attorneys have their clients file assault and child abuse charges before divorce proceedings. I work with an attorney who saw the practice happen in his old firm. However, in this case I think the allegation have some basis in truth.

Finally, a few years in the pen might be good for Bradley. With his anger issues, it's a matter of time before he kills someone and goes away for decades. Maybe some time in prison makes him see the light.

I've defended Bradley in the past, and I understand it could be a divorce court ploy, but there is a pattern over considerable time of Bradley acting out with angry outbursts. It's easy to believe he'd do so in a heated domestic confrontation, with little self-confrol. And in most cases, what gets to police report and court is going go be the tip of an iceberg.

#29: Mmmm, yeah, you should probably report those lawyers to their state ethics office. That's totally unethical, and probably illegal.

Of course it is, but anyone who meets regularly with lawyers and who knows how consultations operate also knows how routinely and in what fashion these kinds of things are talked about. "I'd never advise someone to file a false report, but it's clear that allegations of spousal or child abuse put the accused at a tremendous advantage". Or, "when it comes to deciding whether to report suspicions, do be aware of the tremendous advantage that accrues to the accuser".

When I first started talking to lawyers in the course of business, made several as friends, and helped out here and there during brainstorming sessions, I was thoroughly amazed at what they'll tell you. I can't tell you how many times I've had conversations proceed along the lines of, "Well, of course, someone should NEVER do something like x, but if they WERE going to do something like x, they should definitely also do y, but never do z, and then...," presented as scarcely veiled advice, and known exactly for what it was.

I call ########.

Of COURSE you do. Anyone who doesn't join the chorus wholeheartedly enough to satisfy you gets the lash. It can't be that the rush to "Guilty!" brings up other issues as well, right? Why not just accuse me of being 'abuser-loving scum'? You know you want to.

Anyway, given that Bradley's wife was also alleged to have assaulted Bradley, I was reminded that women are as violent as men (though the do definitely come out worse in exchanges because of the disparity in strength), an issue that routinely is ignored and suppressed, in some case even suppressed by statute.

When the State of Massachusetts actively prevents inquiries into female battering, there's a problem.

“Typical domestic violence research systematically eliminates the female batterer from study,” [Steve Basille***] adds. Indeed, at a seminar held at Mt. Wachusett Community College in November 2001, presenter Denise Gosselin, a law enforcement officer specializing in domestic violence and author of “Heavy Hands,” acknowledged that the government “will not provide any funding for domestic violence research that includes male victims of female domestic violence.”

Basile decided to examine all 209A domestic abuse prevention order case dockets from one year, one court, and see what patterns, if any, emerge. The court: Gardner District Court. The year: 1997.
One measure of the success of Basile's efforts is of the phyrrhic kind: legislation was introduced and enacted purely to hinder any future such efforts by “hostiles.” Senators Therese Murray and Cheryl Jacques and Attorney General Tom Reilly introduced legislation to make all 209A docket contact information unavailable to the public very soon after the study's first publicity in a Telegram & Gazette article in September, 1998.

The legislation passed and the Public Records Law (Massachusetts' version of the Freedom of Information Act) has now been so amended.

***

The Basile study of Gardner District Court 209A orders issued in 1997 is making waves. On September 27 last year, Steve Basile presented the study at the 2002 Family Violence Conference in San Diego. Two articles derived from his groundbreaking study are in press at the Journal of Family Violence.

I've defended Bradley in the past, and I understand it could be a divorce court ploy, but there is a pattern over considerable time of Bradley acting out with angry outbursts. It's easy to believe he'd do so in a heated domestic confrontation, with little self-confrol. And in most cases, what gets to police report and court is going go be the tip of an iceberg.

Yup to the last. The difference is though, I'm not defending him. I'm defending the presumption of innocence. If I had to bet, I'd bet he did rather more than what's been reported. My specific point was that he was assumed to be guilty of everything reported, and that the reports routinely omit allegations of Mrs. Bradley's violent behavior.

As to #29 stating that he was never found guilty, I think there's too much smoke to think that Bradley is completely innocent of any wrong.

Of course. I'd be literally amazed if he was completely innocent.

Finally, a few years in the pen might be good for Bradley. With his anger issues, it's a matter of time before he kills someone and goes away for decades. Maybe some time in prison makes him see the light.

I find this incredibly troubling.

Jack Carter, is there something you want to share with us?

Well, I haven't wanted to bring it up, [redacted], as I know it's been painful for you, but, have you stopped beating your wife?

Stay tuned for jokes about spousal abuse from the same people who joked about spousal abuse in this forum after the Andruw Jones incident - and then acted shocked when SugarBear and I raised an eyebrow in response.

Such delicate sensibilities. I hope that's working out for you.

Of course it is, but anyone who meets regularly with lawyers and who knows how consultations operate also knows how routinely and in what fashion these kinds of things are talked about. "I'd never advise someone to file a false report, but it's clear that allegations of spousal or child abuse put the accused at a tremendous advantage". Or, "when it comes to deciding whether to report suspicions, do be aware of the tremendous advantage that accrues to the accuser".

Yup, happens all the time. Doubt it's happening here though. A few years back, my sister-in-law and her ex were in court working through a contentious divorce. They each accused the other of physical abuse and gave detailed accounts of various incidents in open court. From what I could tell, all complete BS. The judge didn't seem to buy any of it. More interesting is that they both seem to be on the same page as far as it being just a tactic, they are friendly these days and I wouldn't be shocked if they got back together at some point.

Yup, happens all the time. ...

There's a big difference between some "he said, she said" in a divorce case and the police charging people with felonies based on little or no evidence. The former might happen all the time, but I doubt the latter does.

the basis of anger management is "when you get really mad, walk away".

I'm pretty sure the basis of anger management is to walk away before you get really mad. People don't make calm, rational decisions when they're really mad so it's usually a bit late by then.

Obviously. The 'she said' will only get you so far with the cops. At some point they are probably going to require some physical evidence, which is at least a little tougher to fake. Who knows.

Also, it's true that some attorneys have their clients file assault and child abuse charges before divorce proceedings. I work with an attorney who saw the practice happen in his old firm. However, in this case I think the allegation have some basis in truth.

We seen this recently with Trarell Suggs and his fiance, now wife. She filed for sole custody and filed charges for domestic abuse. Then a month later they got married, the charges were dropped and nobody she said she was marrying her best friend.

The strange thing about this case is that the charges are based on five incidents. Unless Bradley was arrested previously but it didn't make the papers, it's hard to believe the police responded to domestic violence calls that included evidence of physical abuse but then left without taking anyone into custody.

Yup, happens all the time. Doubt it's happening here though. A few years back, my sister-in-law and her ex were in court working through a contentious divorce. They each accused the other of physical abuse and gave detailed accounts of various incidents in open court. From what I could tell, all complete BS. The judge didn't seem to buy any of it. More interesting is that they both seem to be on the same page as far as it being just a tactic, they are friendly these days and I wouldn't be shocked if they got back together at some point.

I don't doubt judges do get jaded, and pretty quickly, at that. Bradley and his wife did seem to swap accusations from time to time, then get back together, but at some point that's got to get old. I don't get couples who argue all the time, let alone slug each other every odd month. What can you get out of that?

There's a big difference between some "he said, she said" in a divorce case and the police charging people with felonies based on little or no evidence. The former might happen all the time, but I doubt the latter does.

The 'she said' will only get you so far with the cops. At some point they are probably going to require some physical evidence, which is at least a little tougher to fake. Who knows.

Police and prosecutorial policies undoubtedly vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but where I practice (Ontario) the police in domestic cases are not allowed to exercise any discretion and must lay charges whenever someone alleges an assault by a domestic partner, without regard to the presence or absence or corroborating evidence. While we don't use the felony/misdemeanour distinction and while most of these types of charges ultimately proceed as what are roughly equivalent to misdemeanour prosecutions, I've seen a great many cases where more serious charges (the equivalent of felonies) have been prosecuted based entirely on the uncorroborated word of one spouse (for example, cases where the spouse alleges a prior sexual assault that caused no injuries, or a prior physical assault that caused injury but that is only reported after the claimed injuries have fully healed and where there is no independent evidence that they ever existed).

The strange thing about this case is that the charges are based on five incidents. Unless Bradley was arrested previously but it didn't make the papers, it's hard to believe the police responded to domestic violence calls that included evidence of physical abuse but then left without taking anyone into custody.

I don't know the details of Bradley's case, but when domestic assault complaints are made to the police it is very common for the complainant to allege both some immediate assault and also previous acts of violence that she (or he) didn't report at the time.

What can you get out of that?

Kinky make-up sex.

[47] What is the benefit of making baseless spousal abuse allegations in a no fault divorce state?