Red Sox' Steven Wright Explains Domestic Assault Arrest: 'I Never Touched Her'
BOSTON (CBS) -- One of the most surprising headlines of the Red Sox' offseason came when starting pitcher Steven Wright was arrested and charged with domestic assault.
At the time of the incident, Wright's attorney stated that there was no physical contact and that Wright "said things he deeply regrets" in a moment that was "purely emotional."
On Wednesday in Fort Myers, Wright spoke to the media. While he couldn't speak in great detail about the case, due to MLB's ongoing investigation into the matter, Wright reiterated that he never hit his wife.
"It's one of those things that I've got to live with the consequences that came from my actions that night," Wright said, according to Chris Mason of the Eagle Tribune. "It's just hard. You get labeled as somebody that's a wife-beater when you don't even make physical contact. I'm looking forward to telling that side of the story, about what happens, because people will understand a little bit more about what happened. It's not what you're reading as far as you hear about domestic violence."
A court in Tennessee, where the incident took place, retired Wright's case for 12 months. That means so long as there are no other incidents in 2018, the case will officially be closed. But with MLB still pursuing its own investigation, Wright found himself a bit cautious with his words.
"It just got to the point where law enforcement got involved, which is tough, because I really want to at least tell my side of the story," Wright said, according to Mason. "When it comes out, you obviously think of the worst. But it wasn't that bad, especially on a personal level, especially because I never touched her. That's probably the hardest thing, for me to sit there and see people talk about being a wife-beater and all that stuff and I didn't even make physical contact."
Wright said that since the verbal altercation took place, he and his wife have undergone counseling.
MLB and MLBPA agreed on a domestic violence policy in 2015 which grants commissioner Rob Manfred the freedom to "decide on appropriate discipline, with no minimum or maximum penalty under the policy."
