Bauer immediately issued a statement announcing that he had appealed the suspension, and thus became the first player to appeal the punishment through MLB’s domestic violence policy. “In the strongest possible terms, I deny that I have committed any breach of the league’s policy of domestic violence or sexual assault,” Bauer said in a statement. I call for this action and I expect it to prevail. “As we did throughout this process, my representatives and I respect the confidentiality of the proceedings.”
Bauer, 31, is accused of sexually assaulting a San Diego woman who asked for a restraining order and accused him of having excessive sex during two meetings last April and May. A Los Angeles judge denied the woman a permanent restraining order in August, and the Los Angeles County Attorney’s Office refused to prosecute in February. Bauer joined the Dodgers on a three-year, $ 102 million contract in February 2021 after winning the National League Cy Young Award during the 2020 season shortened by COVID-19. He spent the last 81 games of the regular season in the governing league, plus an additional 18 to start the 2022 season. But the penalty of 324 games does not start before Friday, which means he has no credit for the previous year he was served. MLB announced the suspension in a brief statement that did not provide details of its findings, adding: “Under the terms of the Policy, the Office of the Commissioner will not issue any further statements at this time.” The Dodgers, who are at home against the Detroit Tigers this weekend, released the following statement: “Today we were informed that the MLB has completed its investigation into allegations against Trevor Bauer and the Commissioner has issued his decision on discipline. The Dodgers take all allegations of this kind very seriously and do not forgive or justify any act We have been fully involved in MLB’s research since its inception and fully support MLB’s policy on domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse, and the Commissioner ‘s enforcement of the Policy. “We understand that Trevor has the right to appeal against the Commissioner’s decision. Therefore, we will not comment further until the proceedings are completed.” Bauer is the 16th player to be disqualified since Major League Baseball and the MLB Players’ Association unveiled its common policy on domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse in August 2015, which provided MLB commissioner Rob Manfred autonomy to exclude players for “fair reason”. These suspensions – not counting former pardoner Felipe Vazquez, who is serving a prison sentence for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl – ranged from 15 to 162 matches and were the result of negotiations in which players waived their right to appeal. Bauer last played on June 28 last year. The next day, a 27-year-old woman then filed for Domestic Violence Restrictive Warrant (DVRO), alleging that Bauer attacked her during two sexual intercourses at his home in Pasadena, California in April. and in May. In her statement, the woman – whom ESPN chose not to name – effectively claimed that Bauer had overdone consensual hard sex, claiming that he had strangled her on several occasions, scratched her and punched her repeatedly throughout her body. , sodome without consent. and left her with injuries that justified a trip to the emergency room. Bauer and his lawyers, Jon Fetterolf and Rachel Luba, categorically denied the allegations throughout, calling them “fraudulent” and “unfounded” in an initial statement. Bauer was initially placed on administrative leave – a means by which players are paid their full salaries but not allowed on major league venues while investigations continue – on July 2. Five days later, the Dodgers canceled Bauer’s scheduled night and removed his merchandise from its stores, saying the group “did not consider it appropriate to continue the investigation.” At the end of a four-day hearing on Aug. 19, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman lifted the ban, ruling that Bauer was not a permanent threat to the woman and that her injuries were the result of nothing. he verbally objected before or during the meeting, pointing to texts by the woman in which he asked to be strangled. The judge said that “the injuries as shown in the photos are terrible”, but added: “If you set limits and exceeded them, this case would be clear. exceeds the limits set by the petitioner “. Days before the hearing began, the Washington Post published a story about a second woman, from Ohio, who asked for a temporary restraining order against Bauer in June 2020 and also accused him of assault. The woman turned down the order six weeks later after Bauer’s lawyers threatened to take legal action, according to the report. The Post’s story included photographs showing Bauer alleged injuries, as well as threatening messages, one of which Bauer allegedly wrote: “I do not like spending time in jail to kill someone. And that would happen if I saw you again. “ Bauer’s lawyers called the allegations of physical abuse “categorically false” and questioned the validity of the photos and messages. The Pasadena Police Department completed its investigation into Bauer’s case with his San Diego wife on Aug. 27, sending the case to the Los Angeles County Attorney’s Office, which spent the next five months examining the case before declaring February 8 that he will not prosecute. The Attorney General’s Office investigated and dismissed charges of assault with means that could cause serious bodily harm and sodomy to an unconscious person during the first sexual intercourse between Bauer and the woman on April 22 and domestic violence during the second sexual intercourse on the 16th. . As part of its rejection, the District Attorney wrote: “After a thorough examination of all available evidence, including civil restraint proceedings, witness testimony and physical evidence, people are unable to prove the allegations beyond Out of reasonable doubt. “ Bauer immediately released a seven-minute video on YouTube in which he described his version of events, saying at one point: “I never hit this woman in the face. I never hit her in the vagina. I had anal sex with her or soda with anyone “I never attacked her in any way, at any time, and while we had consensual hard sex, the harassing acts and behavior she described simply did not happen.” The woman, who provided photos and medical records as part of her DVRO statement, claimed she woke up in the morning after second intercourse with two black eyes, a swollen jaw and cheekbones, dark red scratches on the right side of her face, bruised gums. a bulge on the side of her head, a torn upper lip, black bruises on the top of her vagina and multiple bruises on the right buttocks cheek. In the past two months, as MLB continued its investigation, Bauer’s lawyers have filed defamation lawsuits against two media companies, claiming that Deadspin deliberately published false information to cover up allegations of sexual assault and that The Athlet campaign for malicious targeting and harassment “Bauer. Bauer’s lawyers also called on the Pasadena Police Department for the lack of telephone records from his prosecutor, claiming in court that “the requested materials will further reveal the petitioner’s plan to ruin the Accused’s reputation and career and win a large salary by making false and misleading allegations in her application “. But Gould-Saltman ruled at an April 4 hearing that Bauer would not be aware of the phone records, saying his lawyers had not submitted the appropriate proposal and that he would nevertheless be skeptical of an argument that the records would help them show. misled the legal process and has to pay the fees of his lawyers. On Monday, Bauer’s attorneys filed a defamation and misconduct lawsuit against the woman in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The lawsuit alleges that she “fabricated allegations of sexual assault”, “dropped false criminal and civil lawsuits”, “made false and malicious statements” and “created an explosion in the media based on her lies” in an attempt to “destroy” her Bauer fame. “draws attention to itself” and “exports millions of dollars.”
