Statement on the Yankees’ hiring of Aroldis Chapman

Pitcher Aroldis Chapman’s behavior toward his girlfriend this past October has all the hallmarks of lethality. When a gun is present in a domestic violence situation, it increases the risk of homicide for women by 500%. In the past 25 years in the U.S., more intimate partner homicides have been committed with guns than with all other weapons combined.

Additionally, the occurrence of strangulation during domestic abuse is widely recognized as an indicator that the abuse may later escalate into homicide.

It’s reprehensible that the New York Yankees hired Chapman when he is under investigation for violating Major League Baseball’s recent and much-touted domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy.

– Hon. Judy Harris Kluger, Executive Director