Jeff Van Gundy. Photo by Ben Margot/Associated Press
ESPN commentator Jeff Van Gundy is not the type to hold his tongue, and on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) he voiced his concerns over the alarming number of NBA players who commit crimes against women.
While calling the NBA preseason game between the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets, the former head coach addressed the problem and suggested a harsh punishment for the violators.
“My one suggestion going forward is, any felony committed against a woman should be a full-season suspension,” Van Gundy said, as transcribed by Dime’s Sean Highkin. “And on the second one, you’re gone.”
His sentiments came in the wake of NBA point guards Derrick Rose and Darren Collison’s domestic-violence charges, and he began discussing the former’s ongoing rape trial.
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“His situation right now looms over the Knicks’ season,” he said. “As much as anyone wants to dismiss it, it’s a big factor.”
The 54-year-old TV analyst referenced a conference he had attended about domestic violence and sexual abuse and claimed that the “epidemic” affects one woman every 9 seconds.
The league has been a prominent figure when it comes to handling social issues in recent years, but Van Gundy believes it isn’t doing enough in this regard.
He used Collison’s eight-game suspension over his domestic-violence conviction as an example of the league’s lenient approach on the matter.
“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 do more. Let’s be on the forefront of this,” he said.
The NBA, meanwhile, said it had consulted a panel of experts in the field of domestic violence before deciding on Collison’s punishment.
It explained that he received a lighter sentence because he cooperated with law-enforcement authorities and accepted responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty. Khristian Ibarrola