MLB Exec VP/Baseball Operations Joe Torre told a Senate committee Tuesday that the league and the MLBPA "hope to have a new domestic violence policy in place before next season," according to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. Torre said MLB has proposed a policy that would "make it easier for the commissioner to impose an appropriate level of discipline on players who commit acts of domestic violence or sexual assault and have that discipline be upheld in arbitration." Torre also said MLB has hired S.F.-based Futures Without Violence to "develop and implement training and education programs for all of our players." He added that the league is "in the process of selecting groups that will be part of a steering committee to develop educational and training material for teams and players." Torre said that MLB will send Alaska Family Violence Prevention Project Founder Dr. Linda Chamberlain to "speak to team medical officials at the winter meetings" next week. Additionally, he said that the league is "in the process of formulating educational programs for all 30 clubs to share with players and their spouses and families," as well as developing protocols that clubs "must follow in response to domestic violence or sexual assault incidents" (ESPN.com, 12/3).
