Mychelle spoke about Miles and i listened

If you follow any sports pages, your highlights and trick shot videos were interrupted this week by Mychelle Johnson’s post exposing the abuse she has endured at the hands of her NBA husband, Miles Bridges.

I want to speak to this.

First and foremost, I believe women when they speak. I don’t believe women have ulterior motives when coming forward about abuse. I take what they say as the truth until proven otherwise. So I saw Mychelle’s post and believed her. My heart sank at the photos of the damage he left on her body. The same body that gave him two children. In Mychelle’s photos, not only were the most recent scars and bruises documented but also those underneath that had healed and ceased actively bleeding. Women all over the country saw those photos and looked at our own scars, physical or not.

I want to acknowledge the courage that it takes to tilt the light on the darker side of the world’s shining stars. As a society, we seem to believe that our stars have no faults. But they do. Mychelle reminded us. 

I already knew whose side the comment section would take. Despite the irrefutable evidence of physical harm done to her body, the Instagram and Twitter judges found Bridges not guilty on the basis of, “hoes be lying.” 

So not only has Mychelle endured harm by whom she shares a home but she has also been harmed by a society that won’t bear her truth.

I don’t care how angry Miles Bridges was, or what Mychelle might have said. He hurt a body that he should be protecting and cherishing. The home that they cultivated together was demolished each time he layed his hands on her. 

And let’s not forget, the children who witnessed all of this.

Bridges might not have hit his children, but he damaged the fragile idea they had of love, family, and what a father is.

My heart goes out to these kids as well.

I want to say that Bridge’s stat line does not justify the harm he did off the court. His violence in his home is not excused by his accomplishments.

Believe Mychelle. Believe those who couldn't post about it. Believe those who haven't made the courageous steps to verbalize their pain yet. 

This isn’t just a sports problem, it isn't just a black, white, or wealthy problem. It is everyone’s problem. It is everyone’s responsibility to cherish, not abuse, our partners and to believe others when they muster up the strength to speak about the abuse they've survived.