Issue date: 9/20/07 Section: Campus News

Former Red Sox outfielder and fan favorite Gabe Kapler used his playing experience with the Sox to relate domestic violence with inner strength.

A crowd of 550 sports fans and Kapler adorers attended the lecture on Thursday, September 13, in the RCC auditorium and asked questions about domestic abuse and baseball.

Kapler credits the Red Sox organization for giving him a platform to speak to audiences about what he feels is an important issue. "The Red Sox brand is the biggest asset for me," Kapler said. "I have the ability to reach a national audience. The Red Sox name gives me the ability to reach people and I'm using the brand to raise awareness for domestic violence."

Kapler's life has been affected by domestic violence since he met his wife in high school. Lisa Kapler was abused by her boyfriend for the three years prior to meeting Gabe.

Lisa was emotionally and physically abused by her boyfriend who "beat her up like she was a man," Kapler said. "When she tried to fight back, the beatings got worse."

Kapler then silenced the crowd when he described an instance where Lisa's boyfriend put a gun to her head and asked her if she was ready to die.

"To this day Lisa deals with the aftermath of this abuse," Kapler said. "Our relationship is affected by it constantly."

Kapler emphasized the importance of communication and avoiding physical confrontation in a relationship.

Kapler used an on field confrontation during the 2004 Red Sox season, in where Jason Varitek and Alex Rodriguez fought, to relate to violence.

"A physical confrontation on the field, sometimes, is unavoidable. There's a time in our existence when physical confrontations, we just can't avoid them. A domestic violence physical confrontation is always avoidable. There's never a time when you can allow that water level to spill over."

Kapler used a "water in a glass" analogy to relate to domestic violence. He said when a person gets upset, that person can't let the water spill over the glass and erupt to physical violence.

Presenting a strong male role model is something Kapler realized he had to do when he came to Boston and faced tough media scrutiny. But Gabe explained what he feels a strong man is. "I believe that it displays a lot of weakness to allow that person to take over, that's going to hit a woman."

Kapler said that he feels it is more difficult to connect with the guys than to connect with women. "This is a man's issue just as much, if not more, than a woman's issue," Kapler said. "I don't think that guys recognize how weak that is to hit a woman."

Continued...

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