With firsthand experience, Donaldson supports MLB's domestic violence stance

Josh Donaldson, who witnessed his father abuse his mother as a young child, understands the gravity of domestic violence and the impact it can have on those involved.

The Toronto Blue Jays third baseman's father, Levon Donaldson, spent 15 years in prison on charges including sexual battery and aggravated assault, for crimes committed against Josh's mother and others.

"I'm not going to get too colorful with it. But it wasn't pretty," Donaldson told Rosie DiManno of the Toronto Star. "The best way I can describe it is I can still remember things from when I was from 3 to 5 years old that are very vivid in my mind to this day. And it's not something I would want anybody else to go through.

"It not only affects the two people that are involved but it affects children. It definitely has had an effect on me throughout my life."

Donaldson, with firsthand experience on the subject, was asked his opinion on MLB's new domestic violence policy, which also covers sexual assault and child abuse.

"I feel that Major League Baseball and the union are doing a great job of making people aware - hey, if this happens you're going to get a chance to be proven innocent of guilty, and if you're guilty then ultimately you're going to end up losing money and probably losing credibility for a lot of fans," Donaldson said. "It's a very serious issue, not just in baseball but in society."

New York Yankees reliever Aroldis Chapman recently became the first player to be disciplined under the new mandate, accepting a 30-game ban for inappropriate use of a firearm. Commissioner Rob Manfred said Chapman's dangerous behavior had a negative impact on his girlfriend, who he allegedly choked last October in his Miami home. Chapman was not criminally charged for the incident.

One of Donaldson's former teammates in Toronto, Jose Reyes, is also under investigation by MLB. Reyes is scheduled for a trial April 4 on a charge he abused his wife at a Hawaii resort last October. Manfred is waiting for the criminal proceedings to play out before making a ruling, but has placed the Colorado Rockies shortstop on paid leave in the meantime.

"I would have never thought about Jose as that kind of a person," Donaldson added. "And I still won't, not until I know that there's actual evidence or there's an official ruling."