Less of This:
This coverage of this incident also brought to my attention the reality television show Baseball Wives on VH1 (2011-2012). I was appalled in January when I stumbled on the website www.athleteswives.com. It turns out that people have been interested in athletes’ wives for a while now. According to Google Trends, Google searches for the phrase really became popular around 2007. I'm not sure what prompted the spike in interest in January 2006, but my guess is The Real Housewives of Orange County reality show, since it was announced that month. (Getting a jump start on American interest in the topic, a British television drama called Footballers' Wives aired from 2002-2006.)
“Do you think Bartoli’s dad told her when she was little, ‘You’re never going to be a looker? You’ll never be a Sharapova, so you have to be scrappy and fight.’”
More of That:
Also this month, former baseball player Milton Bradley was finally sentenced to three years in prison for perpetrating domestic violence. He's been arrested for domestic violence multiple times for threatening to kill his wife on multiple occasions, swinging a baseball bat at her, strangling her, and threatening her with a knife, among other things. Despite shocking and appalling statements from Bradley's attorney, in addition to Bradley's own minimization and denial, he was found guilty of: four counts of spousal battery, two counts of criminal threats, and one count each of assault with a deadly weapon, vandalism and brandishing a deadly weapon.
"I don't want to minimize the injuries of Mrs. Bradley, but I think she bruises easily...The physical force was not the maximum he could have enforced because he is a professional athlete." (Milton Bradley's attorney Harland Braun) |
Furthermore, one of my favorite organizations, the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WSCADV), hosted a “Refuse to Abuse” fundraising event with my favorite baseball team, the Seattle Mariners. The Refuse to Abuse 5k fundraising walk/run will take place at the Mariners’ stadium and supports WSCADV’s work. Unlike the images on www.athleteswives.com, the Mariners and their significant others played an active role in getting the message out about healthy relationships. The players' wives took to Twitter to share their photos from the event. We definitely need more of that.