What should happen to a player (or star, etc.) when their garbage comes out, especially when a felony has been committed?
Certainly justice must be served! MLB justice is mainly CYA, especially with video evidence available.
While fans can only rant about it, club owners have the option of dumping (or trading) the garbage so the offense can no longer currently identified with "our" team. Best case would be for the player to become a leper, an untouchable by
any team.
What about real second chances? Does a felony charge dismissed by a plea bargain require a lifetime ban?
What about something called
“Restorative Justice?” Restorative justice is a theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused by criminal behaviour. It is best accomplished through cooperative processes that include all stakeholders. This can lead to transformation of people, relationships and communities.
Restorative justice theory and programs have emerged over the past 35 years as an increasingly influential world-wide alternative to criminal justice practice.....
"....….A prison sentence is not the end of a life…. ….When
(Chuck) Colson left federal prison in 1976, he made it his mission to never forget the men he had met behind bars. Because he recognized that the likelihood of men and women being transformed in prison is closely linked to the kind of justice system in which they serve their time, his work included the founding of Justice Fellowship, the criminal justice reform and advocacy arm of Prison Fellowship, in 1983..... "
Prisons are overcrowded and hopeless; prison reform is needed. Can players - people, even fans - with
public garbage really change? And, if so, what then?
