Brad Ausmus apologizes for post-game 'I beat my wife' joke

Nothing has gone right for Brad Ausmus over the past month. His Detroit Tigers team is struggling in all phases of the game during a month-long swoon. Ausmus' Tigers reached a new low this season thanks to three consecutive losses to the Kansas City Royals, dropping them out of first place for the first time in nearly a year.

Just when you think things couldn't be any worse for the Tigers, Ausmus proceeded to put his foot in his mouth by making a poorly thought out joke about spousal abuse.

During a post-game scrum with the media after today's 2-1 loss, Ausmus showed very poor judgement with a joke which is going to attract the wrong kind of attention to the team's current plight.

Ausmus was asked how he deals with the losing when he goes home: "I beat my wife." Obviously was joking and he later apologized.

— George Sipple (@GeorgeSipple) June 18, 2014

The Tigers' manager quickly realized his mistake, as the joke made for an uncomfortable moment with the media. Aumus immediately apologized. Matthew B. Mowery of The Oakland Press has the full apology.

Immediately, he added: "I’m just kidding. My wife and kids are fantastic. I do get a little mopey at home. But my wife and kids are good. They’ve seen me be in a bad mood after a loss. They’ve been great."

One question — and almost exactly one minute — later, he returned to the subject to apologize for his comment.

"I should say — listen, I didn’t want to make light of battered women. I didn’t mean to make light of that, so I apologize for that, if I offended anyone," a clearly flustered Ausmus said. "Anyways, move past. Next question. Sorry."

Unfortunately for Ausmus, this is one rookie mistake which won't be easy to move past. There will be a backlash, and considering the subject matter, it's appropriate.