Fab Melo also had domestic violence charges on his resume; Should the C's vet players more thoroughly?

With the recent domestic abuse charges against the Celtics 2012 1st round draft pick Jared Sullinger, it should be worth mentioning that the C's other 1st round pick in 2012, Fab Melo, also was charged with domestic violence back when he was in college. And like Sullinger, Melo's accuser claimed this was far from the first time that Melo had been abusive.
According to the Syracuse Post-Standard, which obtained the police incident report filed after an interview with the alleged victim, the woman in question is Melo's girlfriend. Melo and his off-and-on female interest have been involved in physically violent situations "four or five times" since they began dating in October, according to the interview. Monday's incident was allegedly no different. The woman, a student at SUNY Upstate, said Melo grew angry after seeing messages from other men on the woman's Facebook wall. After that, Melo allegedly threw a computer on the floor. When he realized the computer had been damaged, he began throwing it against the walls. Things only got worse from there: She went to the apartment’s bathroom and shut the door. She soon left the bathroom, grabbed her belongings and left the apartment. She was in her car when Melo came out of the apartment, picked up some dirt and threw it on her. Melo walked behind the car and demanded she open the trunk. She refused. Melo approached the driver’s side, reached in the window and snapped off the turn signal control arm, which also controlled the car’s wipers and high beams. She noticed Melo was bleeding from the hand. “Here, you want my blood,” she quoted Melo as saying as he smeared blood on her shirt. She drove off at that point.

You will also recall that the Celtics signed Terrence Williams several months after the draft and he was released this Summer after his own domestic violence issue. With all the talk about what the Patiots should have done years ago with Aaron Hernandez, it begs the question whether the Celtics should put forth more effort vetting their draftees and signees. What's disturbing about all these domestic abuse cases is the pattern. None of the accusers claim these are isolated incidents. It often takes several incidents for the abused to finally say enough is enough and contact the police.

One thing is for sure is that you can not judge a player's character on how nice they are in front of the camera, or the media, or if they talk to fans on twitter. For all the talk of how difficult Rajon Rondo is or how KG is an asshole, you don't see their significant others' accusing them of multiple incidents of abuse. To really know what type of people these players that fans look up to tremendously are it takes a  large amount of research and time with them.

As fans we need to be careful before we label an athlete a "good guy" just because he's talented at sports and friendly publicly. And teams owe it to the cities they represent to place a greater focus on character. Athletes know that if they are talented enough teams will still draft them or sign them despite their issues. Fab Melo was a 7 footer, so he still got drafted. Jared Sullinger is a starting caliber big man, so he will stick with the Celtics. Terrence Williams was a fringe NBA player, so he got cut. Aaron Hernandez was a pro bowl football player, so the Patriots signed him to a multiyear contract. Jerry Remy's son Jared was a security guard, so he got fired immediately. Again the lesson here is if you are talented enough you can do bad shit off the court/field. Not 100% sure how to fix this, but it is worth noting the disturbing trend.

Related: Celtics issue statement on Sullinger charges
Jared Sullinger issues apology after arrest
Jared Sullinger in court: victim claims history of abuse, Sullinger released on $5,000 bail
Report: Jared Sullinger arrested on assault and battery charges
Terrence Williams arrested on domestic violence charges