As an employer I have zero clue on what my guys do on their time off, unless they make the news. (Thats another story). If I were to discover that one of my guys physically or verbally abused their spouse, I would definitely sit down with them and discuss the situation. Depending upon how valuable they are to me is whether or not I would terminate them. I would keep it as low-key as possible and try to keep any of that from surfacing to the other employees. I can understand where Urban said he was caught off guard at the Big Ten media days and can see why he said what he said.
Until you're sitting in the chair of having to make these types of decisions, it is extremely easy to throw stones. There's a lot more that goes into it then just pulling the trigger to fire people. I'm not sure there was the perfect solution to this, and not sure there ever will be.
I’m an employer as well, so I do sit in that chair and while agree that it’s not a cut and dried issue I would lean toward termination in this situation regardless of the value of the employee. I would have a discussion with the employee and would likely offer help, but my biggest concern would be the safety of other employees and clients. My concern in that situation would be a lawsuit. If that employee did abuse another employee and it was made known that I, as the employer, knew of the previous abuse (especially abuse that lead to police intervention and arrests) could I be held liable if the abused employee decided to sue? And by keeping quite, am I displaying a lack of integrity toward my employees and clients. It’s hard to say, but IMO all employees are replaceable, ESPECIALLY if there is an integrity issue involved. I would also be concerned about the culture within the office. If I have a potentially abusive employee, over the long term it’s going to have a negative effect on culture and probably cost me even more valueable employees.
Just to demonstrate how this can impact a person or team you need look no further than Maryland and DJ Durkin. Durkin is a Myer protégé and I have to assume much of his coaching style is a direct result of Myer’s teaching. Essentially what Durkin has done boils down to the abuse of players, that ultimately resulted in the death of a player. If Smith is willing to abuse his wife, what was he doing to the players under his supervision, and how much of THAT abuse does Myer know? My guess is there are a ton of players who have played under both Smith and Myer that have long remained silent for one reason or another. That alone is why I would lean heavily in favor of termination of an abusive employee.
