Brett Myers Arrested
Brett Myers was arrested in Boston last night for allegedly striking his wife. The couple were walking back to their hotel from a bar when a dispute broke out just blocks from Fenway Park. The incident occurred just after midnight and appears pretty gruesome. Here are the details from the Boston Globe:
Myers’ wife, told police she believed her husband hit her twice in the face with a closed fist. Witnesses told police Myers dragged his wife by the hair and slapped her across the face. Procopio said it is unclear if Myers punched his wife or slapped her, but he did strike her in the face.
Courtney Knight, 26, who witnessed the alleged attack, said in an interview today that Myers was out of control.
"It was disgusting," Knight said. "He was dragging her by the hair and slapping her across the face. She was yelling, ‘I’m not going to let you do this to me anymore.’ "
Knight said the 6-foot-4 ballplayer dwarfs his wife, who she estimated to be 5 foot 2 and 100 pounds.
"She’s a real small girl," Knight said. "It was awful."
Myers allegedly told Knight and her friends to leave and resisted when they tried to pull him off of his wife, prompting Knight to call police.
She said Myers was undeterred by the presence of her group of friends.
"He had her on the ground. He was trying to get her to go, and she was resisting," Knight said. "She curled up and sat on the ground. He was pulling her, her shirt up was around her neck….He could have cared less that we were there."
Knight said the player appeared to be fighting with his wife because he wanted to return to their hotel and she did not.
Myers is slated to pitch tomorrow opposite Curt Schilling in a nationally televised game. Now of course, the Phillies have no direct responsibility to punish Myers but they should certainly consider some action. There has yet to be any word from the organization and as of now Myers – out on bail posted by his wife – is still pitching. Although he has been by far the team’s best pitcher, I think the Phillies should consider a suspension because wife-beating is a pretty intolerable offense. When Jason Michaels was arrested last year
for punching a cop, the Phillies did not immediately react but he was traded this off-season. Pat Gillick also traded Vicente Padilla because he felt Padilla didn’t really fit in with the organization. Might he consider this incident similarly?