Jeff Van Gundy Speaks on NBA's Domestic Violence Disciplinary Procedure
During ESPN's coverage of the NBA preseason meeting between the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night, commentator Jeff Van Gundy offered a suggestion for how the league should handle those convicted of domestic violence.
Van Gundy and announcer Mark Jones discussed the impending civil suit filed against Knicks guard Derrick Rose by a former girlfriend, which led to Van Gundy referencing a conference he attended on the subject of domestic violence, which featured speeches by NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent and Houston Texans general manager Rick Smith.
According to Sean Highkin of Uproxx.com, Van Gundy said the following regarding a potential change in the way players convicted of domestic violence are disciplined:
"Darren Collison of the Sacramento Kings just got suspended for eight games for his domestic violence conviction. And I love everything that [NBA Commissioner] Adam Silver has done. My one suggestion going forward is, any felony committed against a woman should be a full-season suspension. And on the second one, you're gone. Let's stop with trying to give out ... because the one thing I learned today, it's not a mistake. It's a choice. It's a choice to commit a violent act, and I just think we've got to ... it's ... eight games, he comes back. I just think we've got to do more instead of ... like you said, the NBA's always been on the forefront. Let's be on the forefront of this.
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In the announcement of Collison's suspension on NBA.com, it was revealed the league consulted a panel of experts in the field of domestic violence before deciding on an eight-game suspension.
The NBA also took into account Collison's history and the fact he both cooperated with law enforcement and accepted responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty.
Despite the league looking at several different factors before deciding upon a punishment, there appears to be a lack of consistency when it comes to domestic violence discipline in comparison to more cut-and-dried issues such as drug-policy violations.
Van Gundy's suggested punishment would be stiff, but it would also eliminate much of the guesswork and potentially go a long way toward deterring similar incidents in the future.
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