Ex-Texas Ranger Josh Hamilton pleads guilty in case in which daughter said he hit her
Former Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton on Tuesday pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor crime in a case in which one of his daughters said that he threw a chair toward her and punched her in the back.
The episode with Hamilton’s eldest daughter occurred in Keller on Sept. 30, 2019, when she was 14 and said something that upset him. He was indicted in April 2020 on injury to a child with intentional bodily injury, a third-degree felony.
In an agreement with the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, Hamilton pleaded guilty to unlawful restraint, a Class A misdemeanor, in Criminal District Court 4 in Tarrant County.
Judge Mike Thomas sentenced Hamilton to pay court costs of $270 and a $500 fine, attend anger control counseling and parenting classes and serve 20 hours of community service.
Hamilton will be on deferred adjudication for a year. Thomas ordered him not consume alcohol, be subject to random urine drug tests and have no contact with the daughter he restrained.
The matter “has been a nightmare, to put it mildly,” according to a statement read on behalf of the daughter when Hamilton entered the plea.
“My mom has taught me to forgive and how to love well, set boundaries, and pray for those who hurt us, but it isn’t always easy. I hope for all of our sakes he gets the help he needs.”
The statement was released by the district attorney’s office.
Hamilton, 40, also has two other daughters with his former wife, Katie Chadwick Hamilton.
Hamilton threw overhand at his eldest daughter a full water bottle that hit her in the chest, according to an account from the girl that is described in an arrest warrant affidavit that a Keller police detective prepared.
Hamilton, who used profanity and was yelling, grabbed the chair on which the girl had her feet propped and pulled it from under her. Hamilton threw the chair and she was able to mostly move out of the way. It hit her leg, according to the affidavit. The chair broke.
Hamilton grabbed his daughter by the shoulders and pulled her from the chair where she was sitting. She fell to the ground and landed on her hip, which she said left a bruise. Hamilton picked her up from the floor and threw her over his shoulder and carried her to her room.
“I’m sorry,” she yelled.
When they reached her door, Hamilton stopped and threw the girl onto her bed, according to the affidavit.
Hamilton placed his hand on the side of her face and pushed down, pinning her head against the bed, according to the affidavit. He used his other hand to hit her legs. His daughter said that Hamilton used both an open hand and a closed fist to hit her legs. He picked her up using her sweatshirt, which caused the clothing to rip, then pushed her back to the bed and again hit her, with an open hand on her back and legs, according to the affidavit.
Hamilton’s fingernails left scratches on her back.
“I hope you go in front of the [expletive] judge and tell him what a terrible dad I am so I don’t have to see you anymore and you don’t ever have to come to my house again,” Hamilton said, according to his daughter’s account described in the affidavit.
As Hamilton left the room he told his daughter to get her belongings together for school. She told him she had. “Well aren’t you just the perfect child,” he responded.
The daughter reported the episode to her mother. The Texas Child Protective Services office alerted Keller police. Hamilton’s other children were also interviewed. They said they had witnessed and heard portions of their father’s eruption, but were not injured, according to the affidavit.
The Rangers acquired Hamilton in December 2007, and he became a five-time All-Star and the 2010 American League MVP before leaving for the Los Angeles Angels.
A recovering drug addict and alcoholic, Hamilton was traded back to the Rangers in April 2015 after an off-season relapse while he recovered from shoulder surgery. He attempted to play with the Rangers in 2016 and 2017 but needed knee operations.
This story was originally published February 22, 2022 at 5:18 PM.
