So much for due process. Though the Dodger outfielder faces no criminal charges at the moment, the LA Daily News’ Steve Dilbeck says enough is enough.
It is time for the Dodgers to make a stand and cut Milton Bradley.
Time to make it known they will no longer tolerate his unpredictable behavior. To make a statement that their recently proclaimed fondness for character is not just lip service. To admit to a mistake and move past it.
There should be no hiding behind a too-convenient knee injury. No vague comments of support. No condoning Bradley’s failings by not speaking and acting against them.
Bradley’s unpredictability as a player never translated off the field. He seemed the emotional man-child, earnest and so immensely likeable one moment, outrageous or enraged the next.
Now comes a report from the Daily Breeze that Bradley’s anger issues exceed throwing a plastic bottle at the foot of a fan at Dodger Stadium or calling a black reporter an Uncle Tom during the postseason.
Three times this summer police have responded to domestic-violence calls at his Redondo Beach home, the newspaper reported, including one where he allegedly choked his pregnant wife, bloodied her lip and threw a cell phone against the wall.
No charges were filed against Bradley or his wife, but the police report is unnerving, particularly in light of his past public battles with anger.
At the beginning of the season, when he seemed on the right track, you pulled for Bradley, hoped he could overcome his anger issue and find happiness on his home team, but it proved too foreign.
Bradley clearly has bigger concerns than his knee to overcome. The Dodgers have been more than patient. Now they clearly need to be decisive.