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The Yankees Won't Have Aroldis Chapman for a While

MLB continues to take hard stand against domestic violence.

Major League Baseball continues to play hard ball with players involved in domestic violence.

A week after MLB commissioner Rob Manfred put Colorado Rockies on paid leave for his domestic violence situation, the league dropped the hammer on Aroldis Chapman.

Late Tuesday night, ESPN reported that Manfred suspended the New York Yankees closer for 30 games, stemming from an alleged domestic violence incident in October. Chapman will not appeal the decision, either.

"I want to be clear, I did not in any way harm my girlfriend that evening. However, I should have exercised better judgment with respect to certain actions, and for that I am sorry," Chapman said in a statement, as reported by ESPN. "The decision to accept a suspension, as opposed to appealing one, was made after careful consideration. I made this decision in an effort to minimize the distractions that an appeal would cause the Yankees, my new teammates and most importantly, my family. I have learned from this matter, and I look forward to being part of the Yankees' quest for a 28th World Series title. Out of respect for my teammates and my family, I will have no further comment."

Under the MLB's newer, stricter domestic violence policy, Chapman will lose $1,856,557 of his $11,325,000 salary this season. He allegedly choked his girlfriend in that October dispute after she "found something on his phone that she did not like," a police report obtained by ESPN stated.

Chapman's version of the story is that his girlfriend fell to the ground after he poked her in the shoulder and that he cut his finger by punching the passenger side window of his car. He also acknowledged to police that he fired eight shots from a gun in frustration over the incident.

Manfred and the MLB wanted to set a tone for this season and years to come for players involved in DV incidents.

"Much of the information regarding the incident has been made public through documents released by law enforcement," Manfred said in a statement, as reported by ESPN. "Mr. Chapman submitted to an in-person interview with counsel present. After reviewing the staff report, I found Mr. Chapman's acknowledged conduct on that day to be inappropriate under the negotiated Policy, particularly his use of a firearm and the impact of that behavior on his partner."

He added: "I am gratified that Mr. Chapman has taken responsibility for his conduct, that he has agreed not to appeal the 30-game suspension, and that he has agreed to comply with the confidential directives of the Joint Policy Board established under the parties' Policy to ensure that a similar incident does not occur in the future."

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(Photo: Robbie Rogers/MLB Photos via Getty Images) 

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