Yankees' third baseman Alex Rodriguez is innocent, or so he says, and he's taking Major League Baseball and the MLB players' union to federal court to prove it.
Rodriguez and his legal team officially filed a lawsuit against the MLB and MLBPA Monday — something he and his legal team had said they would do if A-Rod's season-long suspension by the MLB stayed in place. (Via Al Jazeera)
Much of the case has already played out in the public eye, but a judge's ruling Monday will see that even more of the scandal is open for viewing.
Federal judge William H. Pauley denied A-Rod's lawyers' pleas to keep certain parts of the case confidential, saying “Given the intense public interest in this matter and Commissioner Selig’s disclosures last night on ’60 Minutes,’ it’s difficult to imagine that any portion of this proceeding should be under seal.” (Via The New York Times)
Rodriguez is currently suspended for 162-games by Major League Baseball for allegedly using performance enhancing drugs and interfering with the league's investigation into the "Biogenesis" clinic and its owner Anthony Bosch.
Rodriguez was originally handed a ban for 211 games last year as he rehabbed from an injury, but he appealed. That ban was reduced over the weekend to a season-long 162 games after an arbitrator found "clear and convincing evidence" that A-Rod had used PEDs and twice attempted to obstruct Major League Baseball's investigation. (Via Sports Illustrated)
Former clinic-owner Anthony Bosch told CBS's "60 Minutes" that he personally injected A-Rod with PEDs and even received death threats from people close to A-Rod telling him to keep quiet. Commissioner Bud Selig and other MLB officials also appeared on the "60 Minutes" feature.
But, throughout the entire process, Rodriguez has said he believes he shouldn't serve any type of suspension. He spoke on New York radio personality Mike Francesa's radio show in November when the original suspension came down.
"Were you guilty of any of these charges?"
"No, and I shouldn't serve one inning."
"Did you do anything wrong?"
"No."
"Did you do any PEDs?"
"No" ...
"So you're guilty, in your mind, of nothing?"
"I feel like I should be there opening day." (Via Yes Network )
If A-Rod's suspension does stand, he could lose an estimated $25 million on his Yankees contract next year.
