A video released Tuesday of a former Astro’s prospect beating his fiancée has gone viral.
In 2016 Danry Vasquez was playing for the Corpus Christi Hooks when the assault was captured by the Whataburger Stadium surveillance cameras.
The video shows Vasquez and his fiancée in a stairwell where he hits her in the face and head several times, and forces her down the stairs. The incident was reported to the Corpus Christi Police Department and Vasquez was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor.
In less than 48-hours the video has been viewed millions of times.
“It's abhorrent to watch and definitely abhorrent to occur,” said Matthew S. Manning, First Assistant District Attorney for Nueces County. “It is something that fell into the misdemeanor territory and we appropriately prosecuted it as a misdemeanor.”
Manning said under Texas law, since there was no great bodily injury or choking, the assault falls under a misdemeanor.
The DA’s office says Vasquez completed an anger management course and last week the case was dismissed. However, the damage to his career has been done.
The Hooks released Vasquez shortly after the assault happened and on Tuesday, when the video was released, his most recent team the Lancaster Barnstormers, released Vasquez too.
“As soon as that video comes out then you've got the court of public opinion,” said KHOU Sports Director Jason Bristol. “So, teams certainly are wise to that and they're going to make a quick decision.”
Aly Jacobs, manager of counseling and advocacy at the Houston Area Women’s Center, says the abuse that the video captures isn’t uncommon.
“This is really typical for what our survivors go through,” explained Jacobs.
She’s referencing a few moments in between the physical abuse, where Vasquez picks up the woman’s glasses and puts them back on her face, and picks up her dropped belongings. Jacobs says points to the manipulation often attached to abuse.
“This situation is he hit her but yet he picked up her stuff… that sends a really, really confusing message to a survivor.”
The Houston Area Women’s Center fields approximately 120 calls a day. Jacobs says 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men in the United States are abused and when a video like this goes viral there’s an opportunity.
“It lets a survivor know that they're not the only ones going through this. I think it is an opportunity for us as a society to create additional awareness around how real of an issue this is and to let our survivors know that they are not to blame.”
Jacobs says the video may also highlight the consequences of violence, jail time or not.
“That is justice… he lost his future. That is a consequence. That sends a message to younger boys that when you make bad choices there are consequences.”
There are several resources for both women and men who are abused including the Houston Area Women’s Center Hotline, (713) 528-2121.