STATEMENT ON MLB INVESTIGATION

I want to address a few important points in response to MLB’s statement about the investigation into my departure from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

After being fired from the Dodgers in April 2016, I asked MLB officials to look into the matter because I felt strongly that what happened was unacceptable and wanted to ensure no one else would be be treated that way going forward. I was confident I would have easily won a legal battle, but I knew that would have also meant the end of my career in baseball. At the time, I believed that MLB officials would appreciate that I engaged with them to seek a resolution instead of speaking out publicly. Contrary to their own stated policies, MLB officials refused to investigate unless I agreed to complete confidentiality and waived all legal rights. That seemed like a clear attempt to sweep this issue under the rug. If the issues weren’t going to be addressed, I at least wanted to be able to tell the truth.

In January 2017, I sent a letter to the Commissioner and other MLB officials detailing my concerns. Fearing this letter would become public, MLB officials finally started an investigation the following month. I was skeptical MLB would conduct an objective and unbiased investigation, but felt there was enough evidence of malfeasance that they would at least have to take the issue seriously.

It was clear from the outset that MLB officials had no desire to conduct an honest and transparent investigation and were grasping at straws to justify my termination. MLB officials acknowledged early on that it was clear that I had excelled at my job and had acted in an upstanding manner. They were also unable to cite a single example of someone in a similar role being fired during the season, rather than their contract expiring, for anything other than an episode of serious misconduct. MLB officials refused to even address the issues I raised and simply promoted the narrative that my termination was the result of a personality conflict, bizarrely citing my opposition to highly unethical and illegal behavior as evidence of this conflict.

I was astonished that MLB officials would take this position and informed them that I would be glad to provide the information to law enforcement officials to determine if this was just a personality conflict or whether actual crimes had occurred. In March 2017, I gave the information to the FBI and worked with FBI agents and federal prosecutors over the course of a lengthy investigation that eventually resulted in the empaneling of a federal grand jury, as has previously been reported. While MLB would like to dismiss me as a disgruntled employee, you don’t have a federal grand jury without real evidence.

In addition to turning a blind eye toward repeated and serious violations of federal law, MLB officials also chose to not enforce their own policies, including those on reporting sexual assaults. It speaks volumes about the lack of integrity of the most senior MLB officials that they didn’t see a problem with any of these serious issues and were content to sweep them under the rug.

MLB officials have repeatedly refused to provide me with the investigation report and only released a statement about the investigation for the first time now, roughly a year and a half after it ended. Their statement also contradicts what they said privately at the time. Rather than simply address these issues in an honest manner and make improvements, MLB officials acted in bad faith at every turn and attacked me for raising the issues. MLB’s process was disingenuous from start to finish and doesn’t stand up to the slightest scrutiny.

There was no dispute of the fact that Gabe Kapler pushed for a leave of absence against my will and before I even had an appointment. During the investigation itself, Dodgers’ CEO Stan Kasten made false accusations to MLB officials that I had made “threats of physical violence.” These claims were entirely unfounded and played on the worse stereotypes of military veterans. While these allegations were quickly proven false, there were no consequences whatsoever for Kasten. The Commissioner should be held accountable for explaining why he thinks these behaviors are acceptable.

After MLB’s investigation concluded in May 2017, I had every intention of leaving baseball. MLB officials and New York Mets executives implored me to reconsider, insisting that I had a bright future in the game and could also make a huge difference with MLB’s veterans and Memorial Day programs. I was ready to move on and embraced my new role with the Mets while working hard to improve the MLB programs. The dynamic changed when Gabe Kapler was hired by the Philadelphia Phillies in October 2017. It quickly became apparent that MLB would have to throw me under the bus in order to avoid an embarrassing situation. Even as I continued to work toward positive change, MLB officials refused to engage in serious discussions about the veterans and Memorial Day programs and eventually ignored me entirely. I only spoke out publicly as a last resort after exhaustive efforts to engage privately. I certainly wish it didn’t require speaking out to achieve even minor changes, but I felt I had no other choice.

I love baseball and care deeply about it as an institution, which is why I have fought hard against the corrupt and unethical practices that have tarnished the game.