Trevor Bauer suspended for two seasons following abuse complaint

Trevor Bauer of the Los Angeles Dodgers has been suspended by Major League Baseball for two seasons, effective immediately, for violating the league’s domestic violence and sexual assault policy.

The suspension – which will cover 324 games without pay – was announced on Friday by commissioner Rob Manfred. This follows a league investigation into allegations he sexually assaulted a woman. Bauer, who joined the Dodgers last season as a free agent, was placed on administrative leave, with pay, on July 2. suspension.

Bauer, 31, defended himself throughout the process and filed several lawsuits against various people, including members of the media. He released a statement on Friday condemning the decision.

“In the strongest possible terms, I deny any violation of the league’s domestic violence and sexual assault policy,” Bauer said in the statement. “I am appealing this action and expect to prevail. As we have done throughout this process, my representatives and I respect the confidentiality of the proceedings.

In testimony filed in court and, a woman said she made contact with Bauer and began a consensual relationship in April 2021, with agreed-upon rough sex, but it led to non-consensual sex acts. She also said she was choked with her hair until she lost consciousness. She said she returned to Bauer’s in Pasadena, California, in May and set a safe word that would signal her desire to quit, but was again suffocated until she lost. knowledge and be smitten.

Bauer’s attorney had said in a previous statement that his client had messages showing the woman had asked to be choked and slapped during the encounters.

Separately, the Washington Post published an investigation in August revealing another incident of alleged abuse.

The Post’s report detailed how an Ohio woman sought a protective order against Bauer in 2020 after accusing him of hitting and choking her without her consent during sex. According to that report, which relied on sealed court records and other documents, the woman dropped the claim six weeks after filing it and after Bauer’s lawyers threatened legal action. Bauer called the report “a false account” and accused the woman of attempted extortion.

On Friday, The Post reported a third accusation against Bauer.

After a series of extensions to his administrative leave last season, his year officially ended on September 1. 21, when it was agreed that he would not return to the team. He was paid for the entirety of 2021 – his contract was worth $28 million, according to Spotrac – but under the terms of his suspension, he will not be paid in 2022 or 2023, the last two years of his contract with Los Angeles. If an appeal isn’t granted, Bauer’s suspension will continue until the start of the 2024 season and he could lose an estimated $60 million in salary.

Bauer’s prospects as a free agent upon his return are unknown. He will be 33 at the start of the 2024 season – still young enough to be an effective pitcher for several years – but would need a team to look past the evidence in hopes of bolstering his starting rotation. In the NFL, where Deshaun Watson has been accused of sexual assault by numerous women – he has denied all the allegations – the young quarterback obtained a contract from the Cleveland Browns which guaranteed him 230 million dollars.

The Dodgers, for whom Bauer only played 17 games, released a statement after the announcement in which the team said it supported league policy but would not comment further due to the law. call from Bauer.

“The Dodgers organization takes all allegations of this nature very seriously and does not condone or condone any act of domestic violence or sexual assault,” the statement read. “We have fully cooperated with MLB’s investigation since its inception, and we fully support MLB’s joint policy on domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse, as well as enforcement of the policy by the commissioner.”

Bauer is the 16th player to be suspended under the league’s domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. His suspension is twice as long as any other player under the policy and he is the first of the players to say he will appeal the decision, making this uncharted territory for both the player and the league.