Woman Calls For Boycott Of Detroit Tigers After Manager Brad Ausmus Jokes About Beating His Wife
DETROIT (WWJ) - While many aren't thrilled about a tasteless joke Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus made about beating his wife — at least one woman is calling for a boycott of Tigers baseball.
"I think that's something that all women should do; I think so," Carmen Evans of Southfield told WWJ's Charlie Langton Thursday. "I think that will send a strong message that that's something that we can't tolerate."
While some fans have jumped to his defense, Ausmus has been taking heat on social media following post-game comments he made after the team's latest loss on Wednesday. Asked about how he deals with the frustration of the Tigers' losing streak, Ausmus quipped that he beat his wife — before making a quick apology.
"I'm just kidding around. No, luckily my wife and kids are fantastic. I do get a little mopey at home, but my wife and kids are good," Ausmus said, adding a short time later, "I didn't want to make light of battered women. I didn't mean to make light of that, so I apologize for that if that offended anyone."
Ausmus apologized again the following day.
So, if everyone knows he wasn't serious, and he's said he's sorry, what's so bad?
"Because what you do is you joke and then what it begins to do in people's minds is it desensitizes them to the matter of...domestic violence; and that's something that we can't do," Evans said.
Monique Johnson of Southfield said the concept of beating one's wife following a loss is "bull crap."
"He outta be coming home and she beats his butt!" Johnson said, before she was told Ausmus wasn't serious. "Well, that's a horse of another color," she said.
But how would she feel if she was married to Ausmus?
"I don't know; it depends. I like kinky things anyway....Not really beatings, not really beatings — but I'd give him a run for his money," Johnson said.
Meantime, the CEO of a Wayne County group that supports domestic violence victims says she'd like to see Ausmus go a little farther than an apology. Amy Youngquist of the Domestic Violence project called First Step says although Ausmus probably didn't mean the remark literally, he went way too far.
An avid baseball fan, she told WWJ's Sandra McNeill that the manager's comment broke her heart.
"I think it's very hurtful because it sends a message that domestic violence is an okay thing to joke about, that's it's not really serious, that it doesn't really happen and if it does happen, then it's no big deal," Amy Youngquist said.
MORE: Brad Ausmus Misses With Joke About Beating Wife After Loss
Ausmus Apologizes Again For 'Insensitive' Remark: 'Hasn't Been A Fun 12 Hours'
