Darryl Strawberry acknowledged that he struggled with substance abuse early in his baseball career, when he played for the New York Mets. He also admitted that when fans were hard on him, he used it to get back at them. “The drinking and drugging, that was a way of punishing myself and the fans, too,” Strawberry said, according to ESPN. “I figured, ‘If you want to get negative on me, you won’t get the best out of me.'” His addictive behavior led to many suspensions from MLB teams. On top of this, he was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1998, per ABC News.
In 1990, Strawberry was arrested for domestic abuse against his then-wife, Lisa, per The Washington Post, and he entered a treatment facility for alcohol. The two later divorced. In 1993, he was arrested for domestic abuse of his partner, Charisse Simons. One year later, Strawberry and his agent, Eric Goldschmidt, were charged with tax evasion, per ESPN — and shortly afterward, Strawberry was suspended by the MLB for cocaine in his system. Then in 1999, while Strawberry was in Tampa, he was arrested for soliciting prostitution from an undercover police officer; simultaneously, law enforcement found cocaine on his person. In March 2001, Strawberry was sentenced to a two year rehab program, but he was kicked out of the center for violating their protocol.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
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