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Jonah Keri, columnist for The Athletic, reportedly arrested on charges of assaulting wife

By Marisa Iati, The Washington Post

2 minutes to read

Veteran sports columnist and author Jonah Keri was reportedly arrested Thursday on charges of assaulting his wife on at least three occasions.

Keri, who writes and hosts a podcast for The Athletic, was charged with three counts of assault causing bodily harm and one count of uttering death threats, according to CTV Montreal. He allegedly attacked his wife in July 2018, May 2019 and July 2019, the report said, citing court documents.

The Athletic said in a statement Friday that it had suspended Keri “pending further information” and has a zero-tolerance policy for violence.

Keri, 44, was released on bail Friday after being arrested the previous day at his home near Montreal, CTV Montreal reported. Conditions of his bail include that he must not be within 250 meters (about 820 feet) of his wife or child, he has 10 days to remove his belongings from his home and he must not carry weapons, according to CTV Montreal.

He is next scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 10, CTV Montreal reported.

Keri did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment on the charges.

Keri has written two books – “The Extra 2%” about the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays and “Up, Up, and Away” about the Montreal Expos. He also contributes to the sports television service SportsNet and to the fantasy sports service DraftKings.

Before joining The Athletic, Keri was Grantland’s lead baseball writer for four years. He covered the stock market at Investors Business Daily for 11 years before he became a sportswriter.

He has previously been a vocal critic of athletes accused of domestic violence. In 2016, Keri told Sports Illustrated that Major League Baseball’s 30-day suspension of New York Yankees pitcher Aroldis Chapman for alleged domestic violence was “a good start” for punishing what he called a “heinous crime.”

“It still bothers me that if you smoke a joint, you’re still going to potentially miss more games than if you beat your girlfriend,” Keri told Sports Illustrated. “That is really something that MLB needs to address.”

Keri also criticized former New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, who in 2016 received a 51-day suspension in 2016 for allegedly grabbing his wife’s throat and shoving her into a glass door.