Jeff Bagwell was a first baseman for the Houston Astros for 15 years. The retired ballplayer recently made headlines that had nothing to do with his long-time athletic career. Bagwell was named as a third-party in an acrimonious divorce.
The surgeon who owns Houston’s Brown Hand Center and his estranged wife are embroiled in brutal divorce litigation over the couple’s children. The wife earlier requested, and received, supervision for her husband’s visitations.
The woman accused her husband of episodes of rage. The hand doctor was previously acquitted of assault for a disturbance at the couple’s home.
During the latest divorce hearing, the estranged husband confessed he paid for female companionship with up to three companions at once. He told the court the children would be unaffected by the relationship preferences.
The physician’s wife admitted that she used recreational drugs after the birth of her children, but abandoned drug abuse in 2009. Bagwell was identified as the wife’s future husband, whose access to the couple’s children was in dispute.
The divorcing mother said Bagwell was admitted into an alcohol abuse treatment program that he did not finish. The former athlete’s name has been linked with other sports figures suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs.
The divorce is moving to a new phase. The husband says supervised visits with the couple’s children have been denied. He claims the estranged wife allegedly wants the children’s father to agree to unlimited visits with Bagwell before allowing the dad to see his kids.
This Texas couple’s divorce might have passed without public notice if testimony had not mentioned the involvement of an ex-sports celebrity. Divorces are matters of public record, which can be sealed from the public eye only with a valid reason and a court’s permission.
A family court judge may approve the sealing of a divorce record when its contents threaten to harm the divorcing parties or their children.
Source: nypost.com, “Ugly divorce snares slugger,” Jan. 26, 2013