Texas Rangers spark backlash for honoring controversial former star after he was accused of beating his daughter

Daily Mail​

8 hours ago

Texas Rangers fans have lashed out after the franchise honored controversial former star Josh Hamilton on Saturday.
Prior to their game against the Philadelphia Phillies, five-time All-Star Hamilton was brought on field and was presented with his Rangers Hall of Fame jacket.
However, fans questioned the decision to honor Hamilton given his tarnished off-field reputation - after he was accused of assaulting his daughter in 2019.
Six years ago, the former American League MVP surrendered to police in Texas after being accused of injuring one of his three daughters by throwing a chair into her legs and hitting her with a closed fist.
The following April, he was indicted by a grand jury over the incident. In 2022, he plead guilty to unlawful restraint as part of a plea deal that dismissed the indictment.
Hamilton was then sentenced to one-year of deferred probation, fined $500, ordered to pay court costs and attend parenting and anger management classes.
Former Texas Ranger Hamilton previously plead guilty to unlawful restraint in a plea deal that dismissed a 2020 felony indictment for injury to a child
However, despite his tarnished reputation, the Rangers decided to honor him at their game on Saturday and allowed him to throw the ceremonial first pitch of the afternoon.
The franchise later took to X to celebrate the moment, writing: 'All love for the legend'.
It drew backlash from fans, with one writing: 'Does that include when he assaulted his daughter?'
Hamilton was initially inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame in August 2019, prior to the alleged assault. However, the team didn't begin the tradition of handing out Hall of Fame blazers until 2021, hence why he hadn't received one prior to Saturday.
According to a police affidavit back in 2019, Hamilton's daughter told Keller police that he went on a rampage on September 30.
She says she made a comment to Hamilton that upset him, so he threw a full water bottle overhand at her, hitting her in the chest, then began cursing and shouting at her.
She says she apologized, but Hamilton still threw her over his shoulder, carried her to her room, dumped her on her bed, pressed her head against the mattress and hit her legs, leaving scratches from his fingernails. At one point, she claimed, he lifted her by her sweatshirt, causing it to rip.
According to the arrest affidavit, she said Hamilton hit her with both an open hand and closed fist.
Finally, according to the affidavit, Hamilton allegedly told her: 'I hope you go in front of the f***ing judge and tell him what a terrible dad I am so I don't have to see you anymore and you don't ever have to come to my house again.'
Hamilton has two other daughters with his former wife, Katie Chadwick Hamilton.
Hamilton's baseball career included five All-Star selections, but it was also known for his problems with addiction.
After being drafted with the first-overall pick of the 1999 MLB Draft, Hamilton struggled in the minors, was sent to the Betty Ford Center for drug rehabilitation, and ultimately failed several drug tests before being suspended by the team.
But after three years away from the game, Hamilton finally made his Major League debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 2007, finishing the year with an impressive 19 home runs and a .292 batting average.
Things really took off for Hamilton the following season after he signed in Texas, where he was later named the American League's MVP in 2010.
He also played two seasons with the Anaheim Angels before returning to Texas for his final season in 2015.
He also suffered drug and alcohol relapses that season, according to multiple reports.
'I hope that people saw me as just… a real person, a human being, with his struggles and his challenges like everyone else,' Hamilton wrote in an open letter, before being inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame.
'I wasn't trying to pretend that I was Superman, or like I was above anybody and could do no wrong. I was just trying to do the best I could and to be honest about what I was going through.'