In no way do I condone the actions of Phoenix Suns point guard Jason Kidd, who got into an argument last week with his wife Joumana, and ended up punching her in the mouth.

	Jason Kidd and Suns owner Jerry Colangelo address the media concerning Kidd's arrest on domestic violence charges.

But I must say this: Kidd and the Suns have done an altogether admirable job in handling the situation.

It has been professional, it has been proper, and I only hope that when other incidents similar to Kidd's arise around the sports world -- because they inevitably will -- the offenders should take a look at exactly what Kidd and the Suns organization has done to defuse a repulsive event.

Here's the situation: Last Thursday, according to police reports, Kidd was at home with his wife, Joumana, when she told him she was going to the gym, and asked Kidd to feed their baby, T.J.

When Kidd ate a french fry off T.J.'s plate, Joumana scolded Kidd and told him not to do that.

Kidd got angry, spit the french fry out at Joumana, then punched her in the face.

Joumana called 911, hung up, and when 911 called back, the story came out. When they asked if she needed help, Joumana said: "Don't worry about me. This is nothing compared to what I normally go through."

In a way, I guess, Kidd's action are not a surprise. He does have a past, and not all of it is pretty.

But I think for most of us it did come as a surprise. He has not had any problems in recent years, he has worked to maintain a positive image and he has always been an affable guy the few times I have spoken with him.

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So I hate to jump on him and liken him to Rae Carruth or Ray Lewis or any of the athletes who have made us sick to our stomachs in the past year.

Rather, I would like to commend Kidd, and the support the Suns have shown Kidd, in trying to deal with an admitted anger management problem. Right after this story came out, there were no denials, there was no arm-twisting of Joumana -- at least not this time -- saying, "I am the breadwinner in this family. If you go public with this, I could lose endorsements, which means you lose money, too."

Instead, Kidd sat up on a dais at a press conference with Jerry Colangelo, answered the questions they could without getting into legal trouble and said they would make a decision about Kidd's immediate future with the team later that night.

	“	People are asking if I'm going to play basketball, but right now, basketball is secondary. My wife and my family, we've agreed that I will return to play basketball, but right now is not the time. My teammates understand that and the Suns have cooperated in a big way to support us in this decision not to return to basketball at this time. ”
		— Kidd

That decision, as it turned out, was for Kidd to take some time off from basketball. Then at a later press conference, the couple said: "Jason and I have had some turbulence in our relationship of late," Joumana Kidd said, "and what happened the other night was good in a sense, because it's brought us a lot closer together. I love my husband and we're going to support each other through this. We are going to stick together through this and get through this. We're just like normal people and we have normal issues. I thank the media for having so much concern and curiosity, but we do need a little bit of privacy to get this behind us."

And from Jason Kidd: "The last 24 hours have been a little hectic, but I think as a family we would like to ask that we could work on this issue privately. The big thing is, I love my wife and we're going to be closer and stronger after this is all over with.

"People are asking if I'm going to play basketball, but right now, basketball is secondary. My wife and my family, we've agreed that I will return to play basketball, but right now is not the time. My teammates understand that and the Suns have cooperated in a big way to support us in this decision not to return to basketball at this time."

Compare those statements to these made by Kidd's backcourt teammate, Penny Hardaway, who allegedly used a handgun to coerce the mother of his child during an argument:

"I am very disappointed by the decision by the Paradise Valley City Attorney to move forward with this case. I have done absolutely nothing wrong. There are two sides to this story in in this case, the allegations surrounding my actions have ben misrepresented. I am confident that my name will be cleared once all the facts are carefully evaluated."

Hardaway's case recently was dismissed because the woman, LaTarsha McCray, refused to cooperate with police after saying: "I don't want to ruin his career or anything like that because I love him. But I want him to get some help, because he needs some help."

An interesting, ironic part of the whole Kidd-Hardaway-Suns story is that Colangelo has been active in a local anti-domestic violence campaign in part because another athlete on one of his teams, Bobby Chouinard, a former pitcher with the Arizona Diamondbacks, was charged with assault and was later released by the team.

Perhaps that is why he counseled Kidd to treat his situation as delicately as he has. Or perhaps that is why Colangelo was not hesitant to give Kidd the time off from the basketball team that he needed to get his private life together with Joumana.

But I applaud Colangelo for making those decisions in the face of a very competitive Western Conference in basketball, where a few losses without his star point guard could mean missing out on a playoff berth, were things to slide.

Every time somebody dies, we hear athletes say how that tragedy puts life in perspective, how the games mean nothing in the big picture, how health and family are the real gifts of life.

Then, right after they say that, they immediately go out and play a game.

Makes it sound rather hollow.

But in this case, the health of a marriage and a family has come before the team, before the revenue generated from fans paying to see Kidd, before the possibility of money made in the playoffs.

Perhaps every professional sports league should think about mandating a rule that says that any time a situation like this happens, a player should be required to take some time off, get his life straight, work out his difficulties with his wife or girlfriend, get anger management.

Here is why: Jason Kidd and Joumana Kidd are adults. They can made their decisions and they have made choices.

T.J. is 2 years old. He saw his father hit his mother. He did not have a choice in that.

Frank Hughes covers the NBA for the Tacoma (Wash.) News-Tribune. He is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.