MLB players to undergo mandatory domestic violence education

NEW YORK (AP) - All major league players on 40-man rosters will attend a mandatory education program on domestic violence during spring training.

Major League Baseball said Tuesday the sessions, which will be held for every team under an agreement with the players' association, will be coordinated by San Francisco-based Futures Without Violence.

MLB officials began meeting with groups about domestic violence last fall after a series of high-profile domestic violence cases involving NFL players. Esta Soler, president of Futures Without Violence, said in September that MLB reached out to her group, which works to prevent domestic and sexual violence and child abuse.

Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said Monday there also will be an education program for players who are not on 40-man rosters.

The program begins Thursday with Kansas City, Oakland and the Chicago Cubs participating.

Baseball's collective bargaining agreement includes a voluntary treatment program for certain alcohol-related and off-field violent conduct. It also allows the commissioner or a team to impose discipline, but doesn't say of what sort, if a player is charged with a crime "involving the use of physical force or violence, including but not limited to, sexual assault, domestic violence, resisting arrest, battery, and assault."

"We continue to discuss and work with the players' association on the disciplinary component of a policy," Manfred said at a news conference Monday. "I'm hopeful that we will reach an agreement with the players' association before opening day on that topic, and frankly I would be disappointed if we were not able to come to an agreement. Having said that, we want a policy that is effective and as good as any in professional sports, so we're not going to settle for something less than that."