New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez's arbitration hearing for his suspension is quickly unraveling. Rodriguez, who's accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, is threatening to make public all of the evidence and take his case against the MLB to federal court.
1. Rodriguez stormed out of the arbitration hearing on Wednesday after arbitrator Fredric Horowitz chose not to compel MLB commissioner Bud Selig to testify. Rodriguez, who believes the process is unfair and biased, slammed his hand down on a table and said, "This is f---ing bulls---!" before leaving.
He then released a statement (via ESPN):
"I am disgusted with this abusive process, designed to ensure that the player fails. I have sat through 10 days of testimony by felons and liars, sitting quietly through every minute, trying to respect the league and the process. This morning, after Bud Selig refused to come in and testify about his rationale for the unprecedented and totally baseless punishment he hit me with, the arbitrator selected by MLB and the players' association refused to order Selig to come in and face me.
"The absurdity and injustice just became too much. I walked out and will not participate any further in this farce."
2. Rodriguez didn't show up for the grievance hearing on Thursday. His legal team, however, threatened during the hearing to "release all of the evidence" to the public. The evidence is believed to be transcripts of witness testimony, sworn affidavits and documents relating to how the MLB went about its investigation, which is a point of contention with Rodriguez's camp.
"We're going to open up everything," Rodriguez spokesman Ron Berkowitz said, via ESPN. "We're going to show everything we have to the press so they can show it to the American Public."
Jim McCarroll, an attorney for Rodriguez, added: "There's very important stuff that has not been heard."
3. The attorneys for Rodriguez also believe the arbitration hearing is unfair and are preparing to take the case to federal court, according to ESPN. Taking the case to federal court would allow Rodriguez's team the opportunity to subpoena Selig.
"(Rodriguez's side) doesn't give a damn what Horowitz rules," a source told ESPN. "They're taking this to the next level. They're like, 'Go ahead, make your ruling, and we're going to move on.'"
